


The Broken Cycle

by LunaMarieMaxis115



Category: Call of Duty (Video Games)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:28:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 64,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23679898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaMarieMaxis115/pseuds/LunaMarieMaxis115
Summary: The Cycle changes when a woman and a Dragon are introduced. The Dragon knows of what is to come, whilst her mother is left somewhat in the dark.A new romance blossoms as blood spills and as a war rages on.These two women will change the way the Cycle turns the tides of time.
Relationships: Edward Richtofen/Original Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 13





	1. Character Bios

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever posted work and oh boy am I nervous ;-;  
> Hopefully you all like it ^^  
> I also do have two co writers that will be helping me out. Here are the links to their socials!  
> Erftan's Twitter  
> https://twitter.com/Erftan57?s=20  
> Gamer's Legion  
> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtkh_Q4uF7xHNnTeZKWtYAg
> 
> Go show my brothers some love ❤
> 
> I also apologize in advanced for the odd formanting. As I am currently typing this on a note pad in my phone.

Character Bios

Primis Edward  
Full name: Edward Richtofen  
Nicknames: Eddie, Teddy and Doc  
Title: Doctor and Scientist  
Age: Thirty Three  
Nationality: German

*Feels bad for what his Ultimis self did to Luna*  
*Becomes very protective of both Eliana and Luna*

Primis Tank  
Full name: Thomas Dempsey  
Nicknames: Tank  
Title: Corporal  
Age: Thirty One  
Nationality: American (Irish)

*It is revealed in Blood of the Dead that Dempsey is Irish! His last name is of Irish descent and it roughly translates to 'Proud', 'Haughty', and 'Pride'*  
*Likes Eliana. Gets friendzoned*  
*Hangs out with Luna alot*

Primis Nikolai  
Full name: Nikolai Belinski  
Nicknames: Nikki  
Title: Sergeant  
Age: Thirty Five  
Nationality: Russian

*Does not trust Luna at all*  
*Thinks Eliana is a distraction*

Primis Takeo  
Full name: Takeo Masaki  
Nicknames: Tak  
Title: Captain  
Age: Thirty Seven  
Nationality: Japanese

*Respects both Eliana and Luna*  
*When there is a break in between zombies he trains Eliana how to use the katana*

Eliana (Self Insert/OC)  
Full name: Eliana Wolf  
Nicknames: Eli, Alpha and Meine Blume  
Title: Dragon Rider  
Age: Twenty Two  
Nationality: Hispanic (Puerto Rican/Cuban)

*Has Depression, Anxiety, Inattentive ADHD and Aspergur's (High Functioning)*  
*Raised Luna since she was an egg*  
*Is the one mom friend in the group*  
*Hates seeing her own blood*  
*Shortest one in the group standing at 5'0"*

Luna (OC)  
Full name: Luna Maxis  
Nicknames: Lulu and Moonlight  
Title: Dragon Guardian  
Age: Thirty Eight in Human years. In Dragon years she is Thirty Eight Thousand.  
Nationality: German

*She is not related to Doctor Maxis! It will be explained why she decided to use his last name though!*  
*Has Depression and PTSD*  
*Has a human illusion. Her eyes and her canines are what give her away. Her eyes will be Draconic still and will have the nictitating membrane*  
*Her true form is around 11'9"*  
*Her human illusion is around 6'1"*  
*Dragons age alot faster than humans hence why she is older than Eliana*  
*Can breathe Element 115, but it hurts for her to do so*

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_naOiuBAPC/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_naZO_h7SA/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Click the Insta links to see Luna's Human Illusion and Luna's True Form. The first link will show her Human Illusion. The second link will show her True Form. Also you get to see my ugly mug lmao. My pfp is the best damn photo on my Insta account.


	2. Dream or Visions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Visions of the present keep pestering the poor protagonist. She believes them to just be dreams. But will soon realise how wrong she was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize yet again for the odd formatting my hatchlings. I will soon get to writing this on Google Docs. 
> 
> Also me and my other co writers will not be typing out the German accents. As it can be very annoying to do.

The sounds of gunfire and undead moans were loud and obnoxious to the young woman's ears. She just wanted this to be over with, so she could go back to sleep. The sound of footsteps made her turn quickly, Nikolai was running at her full speed with a large train of zombies tailing him; with a gasp Eliana attempted to move but found she was frozen to her spot. She closed her eyes and braced herself, but instead of Nikolai bumping into her and them being torn apart by the zombies he phased right through her. Opening her eyes she could only open and close her mouth like a fish out of water. What the fuck had happened? Was she dead? Would she respawn on the next round? To her surprise the zombies also seemed to phase through her as well, they ignored her and kept pursuing their prey; their moans shaking Eliana to the core. A hand on her shoulder made her turn quickly, before she could see who had touched her the sound of her alarm woke her.  
Her head shot up from her pillow, sweat dripped down her face and she struggled to catch her breath. What in the fuck happened? Why did she keep having these dreams? "Maybe I should stop playing zombies for awhile." Getting out of bed was a challenge as always. The warmth of her blankets made her want to curl up again and sleep, but she had things to do. Changing out of her pajamas and into her clothes she started to plan out the day ahead. Rearranging her room was the top priority, cleaning the room was mixed in with that as well. Putting her hair up in a ponytail she got to work; breakfast would have to wait.  
Eliana started with her books and her computer desk, a thin layer of dust covered some books that remained untouched; one book however stood out to her. Grabbing it she let out a small cough as she wiped it clean, it was a combination of an artbook and her personal journal. Opening it to the first page she saw her full name written on the paper as well as the date and year she received it. Skimming through the pages made her lips tug into a small smile, so many of the entries were in regards to her best friend in the entire Universe, Luna Maxis, a powerful Dragoness who had a remarkable ability to traverse many dimensions and even time itself should she need too. Eliana remembered raising Luna from when she was a mere egg, the teenager at the time had kept Luna a secret from the outside world even her own friends knew nothing about Luna. After all not everyone would believe her if she told them she raised a mythical creature, she would have been sent off to a psychiatric ward in no time. But now she didn't need to worry about hiding her adopted daughter, Luna had since left this dimension and traveled to another. Eliana had not had contact with her in over two years, she hoped Luna was doing ok and hoped that one day she would come home once more. Closing the notebook and placing it down she let out a somber sigh. Dwelling on the past would do nothing right now, she needed to distract herself.  
Hours had passed before Eliana finally felt satisfied with all of her hard work, she did stop a few times to grab a quick bite to eat. When those breaks happened her mind kept going back to her reoccurring dreams. Or were they visions? She couldn't tell. She doubted they were visions. After all it is just a game, not reality. Sitting down on her bed she freed her hair from her ponytail and ran her hands through. She needed a nice warm shower or maybe even a relaxing bubble bath to help her muscles relax. A sound that reminded her of a transformer blowing made her jump from her bed and onto the floor. "What the fuck!?" Eliana exclaimed as her power flickered for a moment. A blue light was coming from beyond the closed door of her bathroom, the light was bright enough that it illuminated the entire room even behind a shut door. Before Eliana could get up the door shot open, the sound of coughing made her stand quickly and tense up. An older woman emerged from the smoke, her black hair was perfectly straight and she had two prominent scars on her face; one across the bridge of her nose and the other across her right eye. The stranger opened her eyes and looked right at Eliana, her eyes were an emerald green in color and were unlike any human's. They were reptilian in nature and everytime she blinked a nictitating membrane would be visible for a split second. "Mutter?" Eliana held her hands to her mouth and let the tears fall from her eyes. "L-Luna? Is that really you?" She asked and moved closer to the woman. Luna nodded and held her arms open right as Eliana ran into her embrace. The two hugged eachother and cried in joy, it had been too long for them.  
"I am so happy you are back! I missed you so fucking much. Where have you been? Are you ok? Why didn't you come around for two years?" Eliana asked these questions as she stepped away from Luna. The Dragoness smiled and motioned for them to take a seat on the bed, once they did is when Luna answered the questions. "I have been travelling through many dimensions. Trying to find a group of people who could help me. But it turns out I might need your help."


	3. Fate is funny like that

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Eliana to pack her bags and face the music. She is ready to finally meet the Primis Crew. Or is she? Little does she know they need to take some quick stops before reaching their destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize yet again for the formatting. Going to keep apologizing until I actually get on a laptop lol 😂 Anyway. Here is the second chapter. The third chapter will take a little more time to write. Going to play Origins and study the map alot more so I can get it as accurate as possible 👌👀

Eliana seemed taken aback by this. Luna needed her help? "Why do you need my help? Luna what did you do?" She was afraid to even know, and if Luna was travelling through dimensions that means it could be really bad. "You know more about these men more than I. And I fear that if they were to meet me alone, well I doubt it would end well." Luna let her tail slip out from her illusion to make a point. She made a good point, even in her human illusion some of her dragon aspects popped out; her eyes and even her canines being a prime example. And wait a minute. What men? And only she knew them better than Luna? "Whoa hang on. Back up. Who do I know more than you? Also you never answered my question as to where you have been." Eliana crossed her right leg other the other and crossed her arms over her chest, she hated when Luna would avoid certain topics and or questions. She wouldn't escape from her easily. "I have been travelling through many dimensions and times. I have been looking for the man who had wronged me in my last life. But instead I found the alternatives. I am talking about Primis. Mutter, you know the Aether storyline well. I trust you will be able to aid me and potentially the Primis crew should we cross paths with them." Eliana had not realized her leg was bouncing until it stopped, it was a habit of hers that needed to be broken. She felt as if time had stopped after hearing the answers that were laid out in front of her. They were real? Did that mean her dreams were indeed visions? Perhaps precognition's even? She stood from her bed making Luna look up at her in confusion. Eliana had started to pace back and forth with her hands clasped behind her back; her mind was going a mile a minute and it refused to stop. "So what you are telling me...is that the Primis Crew is real? Along with the Ultimis Crew and the whole Treyarch Aether Story in general?" Luna shifted on the bed and nodded. "Ja. It is all true. Every little detail that they put into their so called game. Is real. All of it." Her tail tip twitched out of pure anxiety. The poor woman had come back to ask her mother for help, then again she should have seen this coming from a mile away. Eliana after all was a curious creature by nature. "And you mentioned how you wanted to find the one who wronged you correct? So who hurt you? You never really mention your past life too much." Eliana stopped pacing and stood in front of Luna. The Dragoness sighed and rubbed her tail. Dragons have a gift where they were granted two chances at life, this was Luna's last chance at life for she had died during her first. Eliana knew of this when Luna had hatched; even when she was a hatchling she shared her long lived memories with her adopted mother in the form of either telepathy or dream walking. "You will meet him in time. And when that time comes. I shall gut him and remove his entrails. Then I will choke him with it." Her pupils turned to slits which made Eliana decide to stop her interrogation, the last thing she needed was for Luna to have a PTSD episode. She changed the subject quickly and held Luna's hands in hers. "So what should we do Lulu? I mean where do we even start? And my parents as well as my friends will know I am missing. What about them and my animals?" Luna's pupils finally dilated back to normal as she felt her mother's hands in her own, looking up into her eyes she smiled once more. "No need to worry. I have the ability to freeze this dimension until we return. I will give you some time to pack and to also say goodbye to your animals. As well as your friends. Obviously don't say goodbye to your friends in that sense. Just talk with them normally." She let go of her hands and laid back on the day bed, her tail hanged loosely from the edge. Eliana huffed out and looked around her room and thought about what she would need, a backpack or even a duffel bag would be a great start.  
It took Eliana a lot longer than she expected: she packed a lot of items that she felt would be useful for what she could face. Luna had looked through the bag at some points and tossed certain things out, claiming she didn't need them. The things in the bag so far were snacks, a journal, some medical supplies, hygiene items and some extra clothes. Eliana picked up a certain item and snickered, Luna's back was turned to her as she played with the Chinchilla; who by the way was loving the attention. She snuck past her and placed the small item in the bag along with a box. Luna placed her hand on her shoulder making her jump in shock "Damn Luna! Don't give me a heart attack now!" She let Luna move her out of the way; said woman bent down and picked up the two items Eliana had just set in the bag. "Really? Are these really necessary?" Eliana snorted out a laugh and nodded. "Yes. They are absolutely necessary. Now hush and put them back. You are not tossing those aside!" Luna rolled her eyes in response and placed them back in the bag. Satisfied with all the things she packed she zipped it up and tossed it over her shoulder. She was ready to face the unknown. Luna stood close to the only non decorated wall in the room, her arms were crossed and she tapped her foot. "Are you ready to go? Do you have everything that you one hundred percent need?" Eliana nodded and gripped the shoulder strap tightly, not only.did she carefully plan out the items in her bag but her outfit as well. She wore a long sleeve grey shirt and black jeans, she decided to wear her steel toed boots instead of her regular skate shoes. Her hair was up in a high ponytail instead of being let down.  
Luna smiled at her mother and walked over to her: she turned to face the wall, her eyes closed and her breath steady. When she opened her eyes again they had turned an unnatural blue color, a sound similar to electricity came from her mouth. The same blue portal that had appeared in Eliana's bathroom now stood in front of them. It almost looked as if someone had placed a blue mirror down, except said blue mirror did not show a reflection. It didn't even show the place where they were heading. Eliana shivered at that thought. "Do you want to go in together?" Luna looked down at her with a tilt of her head. She didn't respond verbally but chose to nod instead. This was it. Her life would change forever. Taking Luna's hand in hers they both walked towards the portal. Eliana couldn't really describe the feeling energy it was giving off. But it feel in between calm and chaotic. With one final step both of them walked through the portal. True to her word, time stopped in Eliana's dimension right as they walked through. Time would not move again until they returned. If they ever returned.

The first thing that Eliana felt was cold. Her teeth chattered violently and she immediately hugged herself to maintain warm. Where in the hell did Luna bring them? She looked up at Luna for answers but only got a view of her back instead. Of course Luna didn't feel the cold, damned reptile. Her violent shivering stopped as the earth around her shook. What the fuck was that? The sound was mechanical and creaky, it sounded as if the machine needed to be oiled up. The sound was soon followed by a loud boom that shook the ground. Eliana jumped and ran over to Luna. "Lulu...where are we?" She already had a funny feeling as to what map they were at. Judging by her surroundings but hearing Luna say it would make her feel a tad bit better. The Dragoness turned to face her mother, her pupils had turned to slits as she took in their surroundings too. "We are at Excavation Site Sixty Four. But in the game you play it is better known as Origins." Eliana let out an annoyed sighed. Fucking great. Here comes the muddy World War One trenches.


	4. Mud is a Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliana is excited to meet the Primis Crew. Luna not so much.
> 
> But what's this? Turns out the Crew is long gone and Luna purposely made a detour. In the meantime she decides to train her mother how to properly defend herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy guys! Hope you are all doing ok during this crazy time. Living in the hotspot (New York) is wild af. 
> 
> Be safe out there my Hatchlings ❤

"So how do you even want me to introduce us to them? Go up to them and say "Hey there! I'm Eliana and this Luna. My adopted daughter who so happens to be a fucking dragon! Oh by the way in my world you are all fucking fictional!" Like that will go over well." Eliana followed Luna out of the first Generator Room and into the cold. The snow fell more thickly now, a snowflake landed on Eliana's nose making her scrunch her face in disgust. She hated snow. And she hated the mud. Fuck the mud. Luna walked through the mud as if she had done it countless times over, which she most likely had. Meanwhile Eliana trudged through the mud with some difficulty, the mud was thicker than at her old job. Luna chuckled softly as the headed towards Generator Two and the Tank Station. "Nein. Just introduce us as either friends or even sisters for now. We can explain my situation to them later." As they headed into the Tank Station Eliana had noticed something odd. Everything was on. But it seemed like nothing had been touched in awhile. Like a long while. Before she could ask where the men were Luna was already walking away from her. The Dragoness seemed tensed, her hands kept twitching at her sides as if she wished to punch something. Eliana followed closely behind Luna, both of them headed up through the Workshop. Luna's tail and even her wings shifted out of her illusion, which wasn't a good sign. Luna's illusion only worked when she was calm and thinking straight, the fact that her true form was poking through made Eliana worry even more. "Luna. Are you ok? Where are we going? Are you following their scent?" Stepping out once more they found themselves on No Man's Land; Luna stopped suddenly making Eliana bump into her back. Luna stared ahead at the Excavation Site. Eliana's eyes widened in awe and her mouth dropped open. This place was even bigger in person! The four large meteors of the Element stood tall over the dig site itself, the blue glow from them was faint; yet it was still light enough for Eliana to see from where she was standing. "Are we going in the Excavation Site?" Her only response from Luna was a nod before she kept walking again. Why was Luna being so silent? Was she thinking of all the bad things that could possibly happen? Or was she worried that they would get hurt in their search? They finally were able to walk on some planks which helped out greatly, Eliana's old hip injury was flaring up once more making her limp a bit. Climbing the stairs up to the actual site made Eliana shudder, this was it. They were going to meet them! She needed to calm her nerves. As they walked past the Pack a Punch, she did a double take. The Pack a Punch was broken down? And it too looked liked it hadn't been used in a long while. What was going on? Following Luna down the steps she kept looking all over the place expecting a Templar Zombie to hop out and attack. But yet they had yet to run into zombies. They finally reached the bottom of the stairs which made her sigh in relief. She needed a break from walking all that way, she really was out of shape. She finally looked towards the statues of Primis expecting to see the characters sitting there at a makeshift camp, but instead was shocked to find an empty camp.

Luna walked over to the old campfire. Her tail hung low to the ground and slowly shifted to and fro. Sniffing the air she picked up some stale scents of the four men. She knew they were long gone, her mother however did not. Actually she most likely picked up on that by now. Eliana was squatting down in front of the old campfire and just stared right at it. As if she could light it back up with her eyes. She seemed both confused and upset. Confused over the fact that they were no longer there. And upset over the fact she would have to wait even longer to meet them. Patience is key in these times, and her mother would have to learn that sooner rather than later. And besides she was not eager to meet them so soon. Especially Edward. Mind you she has no qualms with the Primis verison, the Ultimis version however is an entirely different matter: a matter Luna rather not indulge in. Turning to face her mother she noticed that Eliana was looking straight at her with an accusing glance. "Luna...you knew they weren't here didn't you? I noticed you didn't even bother tracking their scent. Why did you lie? Luna what is really going on?" Eliana's voice shakes. Whether it was from her pent up emotions or even the cold Luna could not tell, Eliana had cut off their mental link as soon as they walked through the portal. Luna licked her lips and cleared her throat before speaking. "I know I should have told you. And it is my fault that I brought us here knowing they have been long gone. But I assure you I know what I am doing." Eliana sat down fully on the ground, her knees and hips most likely aching from the position she was in and the cold. She hugged her knees close to her chest to keep warm and kept her eyes trained on Luna. She waiting to hear what else she had to say. Luna sighed and ran a hand through her hair, sitting down next to her mother she looked up at the statues of Primis. The staffs were no longer there but yet the lights on the bases glowed dimly. "I must admit I am not ready to meet them just yet. And you still need to learn how to deal with the Untoten first. I feel if you were to meet them now they might see you as a liability." Luna didn't know how true that was, but she didn't want to take chances. They would look at her Mutter, a short and skinny woman, and most likely leave her to die. Luna growled softly at the thought. She would never allow that. Eliana's eyes now seemed dull and bored as she looked at the statues. They were magnificent to say the least. On the right side was the statue of Nikolai, the staff that he used to wield was the Fire Staff which Luna greatly approved of. Next to Nikolai's statue on the left was Dempsey's whose staff of choice was shockingly (pun intended) the Lightning Staff. On Dempsey's left side was Takeo's, his staff was the staff of Ice; interesting choice Luna had thought. And finally to the far left was Richtofen's whose staff confused Luna, it was the Wind Staff. Luna had thought Edward wielded the Lightning one, then again it could be the Element messing with her. She now noticed Eliana had stood up and walked towards the statues to get a better look. She had to crane her neck up just to fully view them. There was a very strong energy around the statues themselves, that could easily draw anyone in. No matter if they knew the Crew or not. Luna stood again and walked towards her mother, placing a hand on her shoulder she smiled up at the statues. "I know you wish to meet them. But first you need to start training. We need to start training." Eliana stopped looking up at the faces of the stone and turned to look at Luna instead. "What do you mean we? Like learning how to be in sync? Because I am sure we have that part down already." She had to agree on that. They were in sync. But not in sync when it came to fighting. There was no need to fight in Eliana's dimension hence why they not practiced together. "Ja we are in sync but not when it comes to fighting. We need to learn how to predict each other's moves without talking. And even without telepathy. We need to learn how to read each other's bodies to properly execute this." Eliana gulped at that. She sucked at reading people's facial expressions and body languages. It had got her into trouble on some occasions. Luna sensed her mother's doubts and wrapped a wing around her. As long as they were together she knew they could achieve anything.

Morning came too quickly for Eliana. She had a hard time sleeping. Even with Luna's warm scales pressed against her she found no comfort. She just wanted to meet the men as soon as possible. Meeting them would be her dream. She just wished her other friends could be here. Especially the boys, Anthony, Ethan, Clayton, Brandon, Damon and Zach. She missed them already. She felt the urge to lean back onto Luna's scales and sleep but instead forced herself to stand up. Stretching out she yawned and thought about where they could train. Wouldn't they need zombies in order to train? Speaking of where were the zombies? Eliana looked back at Luna's sleeping form, the large dragon's back was faced towards her; Luna's true form was something of pure beauty in Eliana's eyes. Carefully making her way up the stairs she tried to keep her thoughts from going all over the place. Maybe they could train somewhere in No Man's Land? No too much mud. She doubted they would encounter more mud. Looking up at the sky she hummed in thought. Who would have guessed that this world was real. That any of this was real. She placed her hand on the destroyed Pack a Punch machine and felt the texture. Yup definitely real. Eliana turned her attention to the large meteors of one one five above her. She didn't really get a good look at them last night. Walking over to one of them she reached out to touch it. "Mutter. That would not be wise. You know that as much as I." Luna's presence startled her and made her jump away from the glow of the meteor. "I know. I just...I just got curious that's all." She defended before placing her hands in her back pockets. "Curiosity killed the cat." "But satisfaction bought it back...shit that saying has a different meaning now when it comes to the Element." Luna chuckled lightly and motioned for Eliana to follow her. They walked over to one of the walkways that faced the open land. Beyond the borders Eliana could see a broken down robot, it's large hand stood still in the mud; sparks flashed from the center and wires came out from it. "We will train over there. It is a lot more open. Also I have an idea that might involve the robot." Eliana did not reply but hummed in approval instead. Training outside of the map didn't seem like a bad idea. But what about the zombies? And what would their training consist of? She would have to ask Luna when they got there. But for now. She needed to brush her hair and eat. She had a funny feeling they were going to be here for awhile. 

Eliana had grabbed her bag and headed back up to Luna. The older woman had sense changed back to her true form once more. After all they needed to get to there spot somehow. Bending her neck down Luna let Eliana climb on top, her bag didn't feel so heavy now that she was sitting. She held onto the red spike in front of her as Luna took to the skies. The cold wind hit Eliana's face like a thousand tiny knives, it hurt badly and made her squint. Luna started to descend slowly, the robot was even bigger up close. As she landed her paw prints made a big imprint, mud got stuck in her claw which made the Dragoness groan. Eliana slid down Luna's neck, her boots made a squelch sound as they hit mud. Ugh great that will take forever to get off of her boots and her jeans. Placing her bag down on the robot she opened it and grabbed her knife that she had packed and examined it. It was a nice combat knife, the top part of the blade was serrated and the blade itself was an ebony black in color. She turned to face Luna with her knife out and ready. Luna snorted softly and examined the knife her mother held. It was small but it would do the trick for now. "Prepare yourself. I won't go easy." Luna teased, her wings opened up and her tail lifted up high above the mud. She was trying to make herself look bigger making Eliana chuckle. "First off I am not sparring with you in your true form. Second off who says you have to go easy on me?" They both laughed as Luna went into her human illusion and got into a fighting stance.

A figure watched the two from a distance. His hands clasped tightly behind his back as he observed their fighting skills. The smaller female was skinny and small in height but she was indeed speedy. Dodging the older woman's blows seemed like second nature to her. Speaking of the older woman. She was quite interesting. A dragon playing as a human. How interesting. The older being could see it now. He could see how these two would affect Primis. Especially the younger woman, she would play a big part. Huffing in annoyance he turned on his heels and walked into an awaiting portal. They would not ruin his plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is that mysterious man at the end being a creep 👀 Is it Monty? The Shadowman? Or perhaps someone else?  
> We will find out soon enough. And don't worry guys. The characters will come about soon enough.


	5. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliana's training has been long and hard, but what happens when zombies actually come forward? Luna has a problem in regards to using the Element properly. And finally they make it to Der Riese, which awakens some dark memories in Luna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy y'all. Sorry I have not updated. Been busy and also have been replaying the maps. I want to make the chapters as detailed as possible and I want to make it seem as real as possible. Hope you are all doing ok my Hatchlings! Stay safe out there!
> 
> ~Chapter Warnings!~  
> Towards the end of this chapter there is some canon typical violence as well as Luna having a PTSD episode! If this disturbs you then please skip that bit when they enter the Crazy Place.

It had been at least four weeks since both of the women had arrived at the Excavation Site. In those four weeks they had trained long and hard. Eliana pushing herself to her breaking points. But every time she fell she would get right back up. She was determined to prove herself as a fighter. Luna was impressed with her mother's determination, and even more so when her mother actually started to exercise. Eliana was not an athlete by all means, when she was not working at the Vet Clinic she was always hidden away in her room; like a true introvert. But now if her family and friends could see her they would be either shocked or amazed at her transformation. True to Luna's word she did not go easy on her mother during their training. Eliana had small cuts and different sizes of bruises covering certain parts of her body. Luna had healed up some of her wounds that could cause an infection but when it came to her other injuries she refused. Stating how she needed to know what the pain felt like and how it would only make her push herself harder. Speaking of her mother, Eliana had come back from her little jog as she liked to call it. She had taken to jogging from the Excavation Site to Generator Six and back. Sometimes she would purposely take the long way, even if it meant going through the mud. Which she would be covered in at times. "That was fun. My legs feel sore as hell." Not only was she covered in mud but she looked soaked to the bone. There was a light shower earlier today. Has it become worse? Luna paid that no mind and pulled her mother close to her with her tail, she needed to warm up and quick before hypothermia set in. Despite her current condition Eliana did not shiver. Not even her teeth rattled from the chill of the rain and the depths of the Excavation Site. Luna cleaned off some mud from her mother's face and noticed a new cut on her chin. She sniffed at it and decided it would be fine if left alone. "When can we go to the next area, Lulu? It has been awhile. And I feel like I am good in regards to training. At least with no zombies." Eliana was indeed ready. She was now more fit and also knew how to handle certain guns. Thankfully the chalk drawings remained even when the box did not. She did have a point when it came to the zombies. Luna felt as if there were no zombies due to the fact the men were gone. After all, the untoten only wanted the men. And no one else. "We will leave tomorrow morning. Meaning we need to go to bed early tonight. Hopefully the men will be there." They laid down next to the statues and sat there in thought. Both women sighed as they stared up at the ceiling, a million thoughts ran through their minds. Luna's thoughts were more so about where to place the portal and how she would cope coming face to face with the crew; Eliana's thoughts were about how she would act around the Primis Crew. Luna would either have to be in her human illusion or stay hidden. Finally both of the women closed their eyes and escaped to the dream world. Not knowing of the trouble that laid ahead.  
Grumbling and the sound of cursing was the first thing that Eliana heard. Her eyes blinked and opened slowly, she grunted at the light. Luna was wide awake and pacing around in her true form still; her tail moved back and forth as she walked and her ears would sometimes twitch. "What are you grumbling for Lulu? Had a nightmare?" Luna turned her focus onto her mother, her muttering had stopped; she sat down and curled her tail around her paws as Eliana moved closer. "Nein. Nothing like that. I actually didn't dream at all last night. But we have a problem." Eliana crossed her arms and squinted her eyes at Luna. "Oh? And what sort of problem do we have my dear daughter?" She tapped her foot and waited for a response. Luna shifted on her paws and let out a deep sigh. "I cannot maintain a portal. It appears but it vanishes after I place it down. This area is becoming depleted of the Element..." Well. That was not good news. Without the portal they could not go to Der Riese. Luna could fly them there. But to fly all the way from the Excavation Site to the Factory would take days. Maybe even a month. Eliana placed a hand on her hip and rubbed the other through her hair. "Well great. Just great. How much of the Element do you need? And I thought that the portals were from the Aether?" Luna went back over to their little sleeping area and nudged her mother's duffel bag, Eliana took the hint and grabbed it. "Ja. You are correct that the portals operate around the Aether. But they do need the Element to help. And the Element can also help make the portals more direct." Bending her neck down she let Eliana climb up and sit promptly on her back. The material of the duffel made Luna's scales quiver. "Alright. So do you have any ideas on how to get more of the Element? The big meteors upstairs seem to be running out. If the fact that their lights are faint means that." Luna was making her way up the steps as her mother spoke, Luna's tail hit one of the many scaffolding's on their ascent up. "The meteors are indeed running out. And they are running out quickly. I can only think of one other place and I doubt you will like it." Finally reaching the top of the stairs Luna headed over past the Pack a Punch. She stared off into the distance, looking over at Generator Four. It took Eliana a minute before it finally clicked in her mind. The Wind Tunnel was over there. And the Wind Tunnel was the easiest way to access. "Oh hell to the no. Luna. Do we seriously have to go to the fucking Crazy Place!?" Eliana's eyes were now wide with distraught, she leaned forward and seemed to let out a whine. Luna snorted out a puff of smoke and nodded. "We must. The Crazy Place is filled with the Element. It is the only way for me to open a portal. You do wish to see Primis do you not?" Luna turned her head a bit so she had somewhat of a view of her mother. Eliana had her arms crossed and a pout on her face. She did want to meet the men. More than anything. With a groan of defeat Eliana motioned for Luna to advance with what she needed to do. Reaching the tunnel was easy enough. Luna decided it would be quicker to glide over than trudging through the thick mud. Eliana hopped off of Luna and watched as she transformed into her human illusion. There was no way in hell Luna would fit in the tunnel in her true form. Eliana clutched the strap of her duffel bag and walked beside Luna. Said woman had taken the lead which Eliana did not mind at all. Reaching the end of the tunnel was quicker than Eliana thought, and to her surprise the Gramophone was still there. Next to where the portal for the Crazy Place. It had some dust on it which Luna blew off, she placed the needle on the disc and stood back. The sound at first sounded distorted before finally the music started to play. The sound of the portal being built made both of them turn their attention to it. After the outside had been built the portal activated bathing them both in a pale yellow glow. Eliana's eyes were wide in awe. It looked beautiful in person, too bad it led to a hell hole. Luna cleared her throat to get Eliana's attention, she turned and faced Luna. "Come. We cannot waste anymore time. This will be a long process." Luna motioned for Eliana to go in first. She reluctantly did so, when she opened her eyes which she had not realized she had closed her mouth fell open. This place was even bigger in person. The sound of Luna entering did not even make Eliana turn to face her. The place was illuminated by a blue glow from all of the rocks around them. Near the middle were the stones where the staffs needed to be placed in order to upgrade them. Walking towards the middle Eliana kept turning to try and take in everything. Luna walked in a straight line with a look of determination on her face, she knew what needed to be done. Luna finally stopped and stood in the middle of a blue circular platform; above her was an opening that looked to be made of clouds. Did that portal up there lead to Argartha? If they were to go up there would it lead them straight to Dr Monty's domain? Eliana had thoughts racing through her mind at a rapid speed as Luna seemed to mentally prepare for what was about to occur. "Mutter. You might want to leave your bag with me. I sense that when I start doing this we will have enemies coming in." That broke Eliana from her daze and she gulped. Enemies. As in the Templar zombies that always seemed to flood the place in the game? Placing her duffel bag at Luna's feet she opened it up and took out a Remington. Zipping her bag back up she got ready with her shotgun and took deep breaths. "Whenever you are ready Luna. Do what you need to do." Luna hummed and closed her eyes. She focused hard on the Element that flowed deep within her veins and then concentrated on the Element surrounding them in the room. The blue platform seemed to glow more intensively as Luna let the Element come to her. And true to her word the sounds of the undead started to make their way to Eliana's ears. A zombie appeared from the Wind side of the area and Eliana shuddered. This was it. This was the true test. Would her training pay off?  
The zombie rushed at Eliana hardly giving her time to think of the proper action to take. She pulled the trigger of the Remington and the bullet connected to the zombies side, the side of the zombie blew off and it fell to the floor with a sickening thud. Eliana tried not to gag at the sight before her. Her eyes watered and her nose burned as the stench of flesh hit her. She could do this. She needed to be strong. She stepped a bit more away from Luna; after all she needed to draw them away from Luna. Who seemed to be in a coma like state. Her now green eyes glowed a light blue and the platform under her looked as if it was vibrating from raw energy. More zombies started to pour out of the walls, some already ran towards Eliana with a purpose. The woman aimed her Remington at the two closest to her and shot at them. She shot the legs off of one and shot the side off of the other. Before she could tend to the slow crawler she had made she needed to direct her attention to the other three that were now running faster. She almost struggled to aim the gun properly but managed to take them out, the last one she even got a head shot. Which externally made her cringe but on the inside she shivered with pride and excitement. Now for the crawler. She took out her knife and strode up to the creature, it groaned and smashed it's teeth together. The creature was upset that it could no longer chase it's prey on two legs. Eliana bent down and tsked. "Dumb little stump stump. Anyway, I hate to do this. But I sorta gotta euthanize ya. No hard feelings though." The creature's only reply was a roar of fury. Eliana shrugged and sighed. "Meh. Oh well." She stabbed the zombie right in the back of the skull, killing it quickly. It's face fell inches away from Eliana's boots. Standing back up she held the knife and looked at the bodies near her. It wasn't too bad. And hell she felt as if that was some good practice. After all she needed some actual action to train her. Turning back to face Luna she was surprised to see her back in her true form with a portal behind her. Her eyes had now reverted back to their normal green instead of the light blue. "Uh. How long have you had that portal open for?" Eliana walked towards her duffel bag but kept her eyes on Luna. "I had it open right as you made that crawler. Which by the way. Must you tease it?" Eliana shrugged again and placed the Remington and her knife back in the bag. "Well I felt the need to and-" "Mutter watch out!" Eliana turned only to come face to face with a Templar Zombie. It went to lunge at her but was intercepted by Luna. The Dragoness picked the zombie up by the torso in her mouth, she shook her head rapidly from side to side before tossing it hard at the opposite wall. It's body made a loud cracking sound as it made an impact. It fell to the ground with a thump. Both of them were panting heavily due to the rush of adrenaline that went through them. "Thanks Lulu...I owe you big time." She grabbed her duffel bag and tossed it over her shoulder. Without another word they both made their way through the portal. Unaware that a figure had witnessed the scene that unfolded seconds ago.  
Stepping out of the portal they were once again greeted by a chill in the air. Snow was on the ground and thankfully there was no new snow falling from the sky. Eliana clutched the strap of her bag tightly and once again looked around. It seemed as if they had teleported near Z-C. The bridge was in the up position meaning the power had been turned off. Thankfully the switch was just nearby. Luna took her time walking through the portal. She seemed to be delaying the inevitable. She watched as Eliana made her way closer to the building Z-C. Memories flashed before Luna's eyes and the sounds of screaming and her own roaring made her freeze to her spot. This place was evil, and it held nothing but dark memories. Eliana stopped her trek and turned to see why Luna wasn't following her. The Dragoness seemed to be stuck in place, her pupils were slits as she stared ahead blankly. "Luna? Lulu? You ok sweetheart?" Eliana immediately dropped her bag and ran up to her daughter. She nudged on Luna's leg and tried to snap her out of it. "Luna sweetheart come back to me."  
In Luna's mind all she could hear was the sounds of men barking out orders. The sounds of torture devices being turned on. The teleporters being activated. Seeing her blood mother's, Rosaline's, body being pushed on a cart and to the dumping grounds. And finally she saw them. The blue eyes that haunted her nightmare and that evil cackle that made all of her scales stand in fear. He was here! She just knew it!  
"Luna! Please my darling! Snap out of it!" Eliana stood in front of her now and let out a gasp. Her eyes had reverted back to the light blue the three spines on her neck seemed to have a faint blue tint to them. Luna looked down at her mother. But instead of seeing her mother she saw a scientist. One of those assholes from Group 935 was still here! A faint blue tinge came from the back of Luna's throat as she let out a deep and guttural growl. Eliana shivered in fear and raised her hands in surrender. "Lulu. Calm down. It's me. It's Eliana. You know. Your mother." Luna stood quickly and got into a low position, she stalked forward and sniffed at Eliana. The woman stood still and let Luna sniff her.  
Wait a minute. This wasn't a Group 935 pawn. It was her mother! It was Eliana. Luna lifted her head from sniffing her Mother's stomach and shook it clear. Her pupils were now round once more and her eyes back to their normal hue. The blue in her spines stopped and they turned back to their original red color. The Element in her blood was back to being dormant. For now.  
Eliana let out a sigh of relief and wiped her forehead of sweat. Thank the Gods that was handled. This place must really affect Luna. Meaning this could be why she has PTSD in the first place. She looked up at Luna and met her eyes. Only to see sadness. "I think. I should go for now. Only until I can tell you the truth about this place. And the truth about why I am hesitant to meet the others. I am sorry Mother. I will still be nearby. If you need me. Call for me." Before Eliana could protest Luna took to the night sky. And with an agonizing roar she disappeared towards the Mainframe. Eliana just looked up still in shock at the events that happened in that short time span. What would she do now? She didn't like to be alone! But yet if Luna needed that alone time then she understood. She just hoped that there wouldn't be too many zombies here. Picking up her duffel once more she licked her lips and headed back towards Z-C. She had yet to even notice that the men had not been there either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter ^^ I am currently working on Chapter Five right now and oh boy. Will it be fun. I plan on introducing the men as soon as Chapter Six or even towards the end of Chapter Five. And be prepared because I plan on making the Der Eisendrache chapters quite long. As I want all of the characters to bond with each other. 
> 
> Oh! And before I forget I will posting drawings(in the Character Bios!) of Luna's human illusion and her True Form. Her human illusion was drawn by my daughter, Can, and her true form was drawn by my friend, Silikiyu!


	6. The Weapons Factory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna's has flown off leaving Eliana alone in Der Riese. Eliana uncovers the truth of what occurred to Luna whilst Luna's nightmares continue.  
> Finally finding a clue as to where the men have gone they both reconcile and finally encounter the men. But not how they wanted to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so hyped to give you guys this chapter. I am going to be honest. As I got closer to the end I was shaking from pure excitement!  
> Also fair warning! In this chapter there is mentions of PTSD and Torture! Also canon typical violence as per usual. Hope you all enjoy this Chapter! The next one may take a bit longer as I plan on making it longer.

It had been at least two hours since Luna had left Eliana alone. During that time Eliana had made a small encampment for herself. She was grateful for the balcony in building Z-C, she and her friends would always camp up here. They always made it to high rounds due to their methods. Eliana sat down on the boxes, running her fingers through her hair she sighed. This would be difficult without Luna; but she could manage. She had to afterall. If she couldn't survive alone then she would still be considered a liability. Bending down a bit to unzip her duffle bag she looked through its contents. "Where the fuck is my lighter? I deadass put it away five seconds ago." Finding it as well as her pack of Nirdosh cigarettes, she took one out of the package and lit it. She took a drag and blew the smoke out. This was bad. Real bad. Her anxiety was spiking up as she thought of a game plan, first she needed to find a good wall gun. Tossing the cigarette on the ground and crushing it with her boot she walked to the stairs. Running down the stairs felt like a chore on her sore muscles but she pushed on. Bitching about it aloud would do nothing. Eliana headed out of the building and for the first time looked into the sky. It was a Lunar Eclipse still, whilst she did not mind it; she found it odd. Taking her gaze away from the lunar phenomenon her eyes made contact with the power lever. "Time to get to work." She grumbled. When the switch flipped up it was an immediate change. The bridge snapped closed and all of the lights turned on, making Eliana's pupils dilate. The young woman headed off towards the right with the building Z-A on her mind, she sensed she would uncover more answers there.

Luna had chosen a building close by to hunker down at. The building was right next to the odd contraption known only as "The Fly Trap''. Humans were queer creatures when it came to naming things, she had thought on multiple occasions. Her ears perked up and she stretched her head to look back at Der Riese. "Ah. She turned on the power. Sehr gut. Now she just needs to find if they are still at that damned castle." Laying her head back down on her paws she sighed. She needed to tell her mother about her past life, and why she kept snapping and or freezing up when certain words were said. She closed her eyes and prayed to the Gods she would have a decent dream. Instead she walked into a nightmare. It was the same one, and it would always come about after she had a PTSD episode. This one however felt more real. It was as if she was back in the cage and back in the operating room. She swore she could still feel the metal collar they had placed around her neck to drag her around; as if she was a common mutt. The sheer audacity of Group 935 made her curl her lip and growl in her dream state. Rolling onto her side her left leg twitched in the air, her right wing hung a bit off the edge of the building. Voices called out to each other and the sounds of the teleporter made Luna huff aloud. This was getting ridiculous. Finally the time came. When that cursed man came to retrieve her from her cell in Z-A. Opening the cell door the man cooed mockingly at her, he gripped the heavy chain attached to her collar and gave it a harsh tug. Luna growled in defiance and received a more prominent tug for her attempt. She was forced to look up and saw his cold and unfeeling eyes staring at her, no this man was staring through her and into her soul. The man that held her chain, the man whose eyes were ice blue with tinges of gold flecks near the pupil was the main cause of her pain and suffering. Was the cause of her dying in that life. Luna shot up, awake and panting heavily. Her chest heaved with each breath she took. Staring out towards the very same building she and the others had been housed in during their imprisonment, she took notice that her Mother was now inside. Looking through cages and file cabinets; she was most likely looking for clues. Luna snorted and shook her head clear. Eliana would not find what she was looking for in that cursed building. Her best bet was Z-B or even Z-C. Luna had to turn away as Eliana picked up the same metal collar that was used on Luna all of those lifetimes ago. The Dragoness turned and laid back down on the roof. Placing her head in her paws once more she stared blankly out towards the horizon. Sending another silent prayer to the Gods she closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep this time.  
Eliana tossed the metal collar to the side, a sound of disgust leaving her lips. She forgot how disgusting and vile Group 935 was. Damned Nazis. She ripped open another door on a filing cabinet and looked through the tabs. Even though they were all in German she felt as if she knew what she was searching for; as if an unseen force was guiding her hands. She grabbed a file that seemed interesting to her. "Drachen? That means Dragon in German..." She opened the file and had to stop herself from gasping. It was a drawing of Luna! Eliana's legs shook as she stared at the pictures on the next page. Some showed Luna's true form and others showed her human illusion. In all of the pictures however Luna seemed younger; and extremely malnourished. One picture in particular made Eliana's heart shatter, it showed Luna in her true form being dragged by a thick metal collar with a heavy chain tethered to it. Luna seemed to be pulling back and away from the men and her eyes in the picture seemed sunken in and tired. Leaning on the cages she tried to calm her racing heart. She unconsciously tapped into Luna's memories and shuddered even more. The feeling of the knife felt so real and the collar felt as if it pinched Eliana's skin. Eliana's complexion paled and she slid down to the floor. Her hands were now clammy, the file fell to the floor now forgotten. The sound of maniacal laughter and the sight of blue eyes made Eliana shriek out in terror. "I have a funny feeling I know who that was." She uttered out in a raspy voice. Drifting away from Luna's mind she forced herself to stand on shaky legs; she needed to get a grip and quick. She never knew when zombies would break through the windows. She bent down and grabbed the file, forcing herself to look through the files for hidden clues. Eliana tilted her head and looked down at the picture in front of her; it was a picture of a grand castle. Plucking the picture from the file she examined it more closely. If a lightbulb could appear above her head it would. She knew where the men had to be! They were at Der Eisendrache!

Eliana ran back over to Z-C. Her legs burned from her pushing herself to her limit. The cold air hit her lungs hard making her wheeze a tiny bit. Finally reaching the building Eliana ran up the stairs and particularly dived towards her bag. She needed to grab her Remington and quick. The sounds of zombies ripping up boards from the windows made Eliana panic. Gripping the Remington tightly she turned just in time to blast an oncoming zombie right in the face. Blood and brain splattered making Eliana's gag reflex kick in. She needed to be strong; reloading the Remington she bolted down the stairs. She couldn't have the zombies spawn near the camp, they easily destroy her belongings. Rushing out of the building she turned back on her heel and shot out at two zombies that were a bit slower than the rest. Eliana had counted ten zombies behind her; turning back to face forward she kept running towards the bridge. She could turn on the bridge trap! Hitting the trap quickly she slid to the other side before it activated. The sound of zombies getting electrocuted made her wince at the sound, the smell of burning flesh didn't help either. More zombies were pouring from the right side forcing Eliana to go left. Thankfully she had turned on the power making the iron barrier open. Another zombies stood in her way, she pulled the trigger on her gun and cursed as she heard the click. Turning the gun around she rammed the butt of it into the zombies face; it's face crunched under the force of her gun. Tossing her Remington she bolted towards the building on her left and grabbed the KRM. Cocking it she took aim and shot another zombie's legs clean off. Using the butt of the gun she smashed it's skull in. Eliana did not care about the smell anymore, her fight or flight took over her body. And right now it was telling her to run. Bolting to the mainframe she jumped down the little ledge and inwardly cringed. Her legs hurt on the impact but her adrenaline kept her from feeling any pain. Walking up to the mainframe she turned to face the oncoming hoard; she couldn't take them all out with just a KRM! The sound of creaking and glass breaking made her stop and turn. It was Luna! The giant Dragoness landed on top of the main Teleporter, her tail curled around it for support; one of the bulbs had shattered upon her landing on it and her wings were spread out and up towards the sky. Letting out a roar of fury she opened her maw and unleashed a torrent of flames on the hoard. Eliana backed up to avoid the inferno. The wires that were connected to the Mainframe caught in the blaze, one of them snapped and hit the ground. Electricity and Element 115 spazzed out of the wire hitting any zombies that were close to it. Luna closed her mouth and hopped down to join her Mother. Eliana ran up and hugged her snout tightly. Both of them were crying as they embraced.

Luna was the first to pull away from the hug and looked down at Eliana. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks and her eyes were now red and puffy. "I am sorry. I am sorry I did not tell you before." Her ears dropped down and her wings folded at her sides. Eliana sniffed loudly and used her hand to wipe away her tears. The KRM hung loosely from her other hand. "You don't need to apologize Lulu. I understand why it was so hard to talk about it. Just know this. If we run into the Ultimis Versions. I promise you. I will not let Richtofen hurt you again. I will rip his entrails out and let you burn his body." Luna smiled, which looked a bit odd in her true form and hugged her mother again. They both stood there in silence enjoying each other's company as the fire died down behind them. Eliana looked back up at Luna and had a wide smile on her face. "Oh! I know where the men are! Well I think. They might be at that Austrian Castle! The Iron Dragon!" Luna tilted her head in confusion. Then it hit here. "Ah Griffin Castle. Ja I know of that place. Very nice und secure castle in the Austrian Alps. We better pack und hurry then. Before they leave once more." Luna bent her neck down for Eliana to climb on. Once she did so Luna took one giant leap and took flight, she landed right outside of Z-C. Lifting her neck up she allowed Eliana to climb up her neck to get to the balcony through one of the broken windows. Eliana packed her bag as quickly as she could, tossing it over her shoulder she opted to run down the stairs. Running up to the teleporter she turned to the left and grabbed the KN-44 from the wall, she held the gun losely and hurried outside. Luna looked down at her and tilted her head at the new weapon in Eliana's hands. It was good to have different types of weapons. Even if Eliana favored shotguns. Eliana looked up at Luna and nodded signalling that she was all set to leave. The Dragoness turned toward the gate that led back out toward the bridge and opened up a portal. The portal should lead them directly to the Castle. Eliana was the first to rush in, KN-44 now gripped tightly in her hands. After Eliana vanished through the portal Luna smiled. Her mother had changed in the past weeks, she no longer was this shy and reserved human. No instead she had grown a backbone and learned that in order to survive she needed to be tough. Luna walked towards the portal a bit more slowly. The unwanted memories started to rush back as she made her way over. Stopping at the edge of the portal she turned to look back at Z-C, she remembered being dragged here by those damned men. She also remembered how the teleporter had affected her growth. And finally she remembered her great escape and how she stood upon the Mainframe all those years ago. She had roared so loud that day that her throat bled. Re opening her eyes, which now glow blue from the element, she unleashed a beam of pure Element 115 from her mouth. The beam hit the teleporter directly causing it to explode from the impact. Shutting her mouth and smirking in triumph she turned back and ran into the portal. The last thing she heard was the sound of the teleporter falling to the ground.

Eliana watched as Luna finally came through the portal. The Dragoness did not say why she took long, but Eliana decided not to question it. She walked towards Luna and patted her leg softly. "I am glad you got out of there. I am proud to call you my daughter." Luna let out a soft prum noise and nuzzled Eliana with her snout. Eliana laughed and backed away from the ticklish sensation. Luna lifted her head and stared directly behind Eliana, her ears were erect and her pupils were large. "What is it Luna?" She turned to see what had caught Luna's attention and gasped. It was the giant robot! And it looked fresh too! They were just in time! "They have to be up at the castle!" Both women looked up and noticed the power to the castle was on. Luna's ears flicked toward that direction; due to her sensitive hearing she could confirm that the men were still there. The sounds of zombies and gunshots gave it away. Without waiting for Luna to lower her neck Eliana crawled up and sat on her back. She gripped one of Luna's blood red neck spikes and shivered. She was finally going to meet them! Luna took a running start before taking to the skies. Eliana didn't even feel the cold at this point, her adrenaline was pumping. Luna stayed high enough so that if the men were to look up they would not see her, thank the Gods for her dark coloration. Eliana peered over and let out a startled gasp. The Primis crew was close to the Church entrance and it seemed as if they were surrounded on both ends. Zombies were pouring out from every direction making it hard for the four of them to keep an eye out. Eliana looked at Luna and noticed Luna had turned her head to face Eliana. Both of them seemed to be in agreement, it would be risky as their original plan was to not reveal Luna's true form until later but they needed to act quickly. Diving down quickly Luna let out a roar that made Eliana shiver. Hearing Luna roar was one thing but being on Luna as she roared was another. She could feel the roar in Luna's body. Eliana held on tighter as Luna swerved around to land on top of the Church, the men looked up at her in both fear and awe. She bent her neck down low, it almost touched the ground; but Luna had successfully blocked off one path for the zombies to reach them. Eliana saw the men in her peripheral vision and shook in anticipation. They were literally right next to her! They now knew that she was riding on Luna. Said Dragoness opened her mouth and roared so loud that it made the zombies in close proximity fly backwards, after that concussive roar she let out a torrent of flames. The smell of burning flesh was powerful and made Eliana dizzy. Whilst Luna burned the zombies in the courtyard the four men quickly dispersed of the ones in the Church. When the hoard had been dealt with is when Eliana started to sway from pure anxiety. Her body was shivering from both the cold and her anxious temperament. She went to slide off of Luna's neck and almost fell, she felt a strong pair of arms catch her before she could stumble. Holding onto the forearms of her savior she looked up and was met with Dempsey's azure eyes. Licking her lips she went to say something until Luna jumped down from the building, making it shake. Dempsey took his eyes off of Eliana and looked towards Luna in slight fear. The others had also stood still, in fear that Luna would suddenly attack. Takeo had one hand on the hilt of his katana, Nikolai had his KRM trained on Luna's head and Edward just looked at Luna with wide eyes and an open mouth. Eliana needed to do something and quickly. "Wait no! Don't shoot at her! That will only piss her off! Luna saved you after all!" She let go of Dempsey and ran to Luna and made a point by hugging her snout. Takeo uttered something in Japanese and Edward finally said something. "Mein Gott. A Drachen. A living breathing Drachen!" Eliana turned to face them all and gulped. They had now stepped a bit closer but were still tensed up. Luna nudged Eliana a bit forward to encourage her mother to speak. Well it was now or never. Eliana cleared her throat and smiled at the men. "Uh hi there. I um suppose introductions are in order. My name is Eliana and this right behind me is Luna. I raised her since she was an egg. And uh let's just say it was hard as fuck to track you guys down."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the Chapter my Hatchlings!  
> I am currently typing out the next Chapter and boy am I hyped. I have a ton of ideas for all of the maps that I will include. I have a funny feeling Gorod Krovi will be my favorite to write (Raising baby Wyverns is going to be adorbs and spoiler alert. Luna will fight a Wyvern and show how Dragons are not only stronger but smarter.)
> 
> Anyway hope you are all staying safe out there! Also if you want to chat with me and get some behind the scenes updates to the Fanfiction then feel free to add me on any of these platforms!
> 
> PS4: LunaMaxis115  
> Discord: Luna Marie Maxis #5732 (My pfp is Kirby holding a knife lmao)  
> Call of Duty:Nazi Zombies Amino: Luna Maxis (Look under members and look under Leaders)
> 
> Stay safe out there y'all ^^


	7. First Meetings and Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna and Eliana finally met the Primis Crew. Questions are asked and answers are somewhat revealed. Dempsey tries to get his flirt on. And Richtofen and Nikolai question why Eliana and Luna re there. Takeo enjoys their company. They somewhat bond with one another but some cannot get past the fact that Eliana and Luna had tracked them. Hopefully they learn to trust each other, before they go further.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Warning this chapter is really long. But it was so worth it. My formatting fucked up so you cannot see the italics and the bolding. But when Luna speaks up until the campfire scene it is via telepathy and only Eliana can hear her. Also when Groph talk it was supposed to be in bold. Hope you guys enjoy.

Luna had stepped a bit closer to Eliana and placed her snout on her Mother's hand. She could smell fear. Not only coming from the men but coming from her own mother. "What do you mean we were hard to track down? How do you know us?" Dempsey was the first to question the two. "And why have you been tracking us?" Nikolai stepped a bit more forward, the barrel of his KRM was aimed down at the ground but his hands were still gripped tightly on it. Luna snorted and decided to speak using telepathy, she did not want to reveal that she could speak. She could use it to her advantage. "Lie. Tell them that I tracked their scent. And that you found one of their journals at the Excavation Site." Eliana patted Luna's snout before answering their questions. "Well you see Luna and I found ourselves at an Excavation Site in France. And we have been searching for other survivors. I found a journal. Guessing one of you wrote it. And Luna had picked up a scent. When I asked her if it was the owner of the journal she said yes." The men still had looks of confusion written on their faces and Nikolai's eyebrows were raised. "Wait. How did the Dragon tell you it was us? Can it speak?" Dempsey moved a bit closer. He kept his eyes on Luna at all times. Luna's scales quivered as he maintained eye contact with her. "First off SHE has a name. And her name is Luna. And she nodded when I asked her. She didn't verbally say it." Luna snorted out a puff of smoke, before the smoke faded it hit Dempsey's face making him cough. Eliana chuckled and went to ask them something; she stopped when she saw that Richtofen seemed to be inching closer to Luna. He finally stopped near Luna's neck and reached a hand out to touch her scales. Luna sensed this and backed away; a soft growl escaped her and Richtofen backed away a bit with his hands raised, Eliana patted Luna's neck and sighed. "Rule one of Dragons. Do not sneak up on them." They all shuffled uncomfortably, an awkward silence filled the air until finally Takeo said something. "We should find a place to camp for the night. A place where Luna will fit." Nikolai looked back into the Church area in thought whilst Takeo went past Luna, she moved a bit out of his way as he walked towards the stairs that led to a landing pad. Eliana clutched her bag strap tightly and kept making awkward eye contact with Dempsey. "Hey uh. Let me get that bag for you. It seems heavy." Dempsey reached out and Eliana handed over her bag; she was grateful to have the weight off her shoulders. Richtofen cleared his throat as he approached the two, Eliana and Dempsey both blushed and looked at Edward. "We never introduced ourselves. My name is Edward Richtofen." Eliana chuckled lightly. "So you are the one who wrote that journal. Nice to finally meet the man who wrote it." Dempsey adjusted the duffle on his shoulder "My name is Tank Dempsey. Feel free to call me Tank. The Russian who went in the Church is Nikolai. And Takeo is the Asian that went past ya." Upon hearing his name Nikolai turned to face them, Eliana waved shyly; Nikolai's only response was a soft huff before he continued looking around the Church more. Luna moved forward and looked at Dempsey and Richtofen, both men flinched as she came close. Eliana moved to stand next to Dempsey and lifted her hand up. "Put your hand up like mine. Let her come to you. She will sniff your wrists. It is a pheromone spot." Dempsey was hesitant at first but slowly lifted up his hand, Richtofen followed suite. Luna leaned closer and sniffed loudly, her nostrils flared as she inhaled their scents. She leaned her snout into Dempsey's hand to get a better smell and so Dempsey could also feel her scales. The marine's body shook with excitement as his gloved hand came into contact with her scales, even with the gloves on he could still feel the warmth pouring from her. He was sad when she pulled away and turned to Edward. Stopping in her tracks she looked down at the man who was still holding his hand up, his eyes were dilated and he reeked of fear. "I don't know if I can do this Mutter...his eyes." Luna spoke to Eliana. 'Luna you don't have to if you don't want to. Or if you want to then close your eyes and let your nose do the rest." Richtofen now tilted his head like a curious dog. "Hey Doc it seems like she doesn't like ya." Dempsey chortled. The Dragoness snorted and finally leaned forward. She sniffed at Richtofen's hand and tried not to cringe. His hands had fresh blood on them, the scent was so strong and rank it made Luna want to vomit. She tried to push away that smell and focus on his natural smell. This version smelled different; it was a good thing though, finally gaining courage she leaned her snout into his bare hand. Richtofen gasped at the feeling of her warm scales on the palm of his hand. The feeling was unreal to say the least. He stopped looking at where his hand was and looked up to meet Luna's eyes. Blue met green and that is when things went south.

Luna's pupils turned to slits as she met his gaze. Backing away immediately she flared her wings up in defense. Eliana ran up to her and talked to her in a soothing voice. "What did you do to upset the Dragon?" Nikolai was done looking through the Church and decided to join them outside. He sadly did not make it in time to get a chance to touch Luna; he knew however that opportunity would come around again, but for now he was glad to sit back and watch. Richtofen had no clue as to why she backed away in fear. Was it his smell? Was he too bold earlier? All he knew was that it felt right when his hand came into contact with her scales. An odd sensation rushed through his body as if he had touched those same scales before. After Eliana calmed Luna down they all turned and watched as Takeo came back, he carried a dead buck through the Trophy Room and dragged it across the courtyard. Luna looked at the carcass and licked her lips as the fresh scent hit her. Eliana rushed over to help Takeo, to which he thanked her as she helped take the buck back into the Church. The whole Luna freaking out situation seemed to be forgotten in the meantime. Right now they needed to focus on surviving and on what to do next. Sitting down in front of the fireplace they all took on a more relaxed form, even Luna had calmed down and laid behind Eliana. With her head in her paws she looked forward and closed her eyes; the feeling of Eliana leaning on her made her feel at peace. Nikolai was done gutting and dressing the buck and had even started a fire in the fireplace. He protested when Eliana told him he would wake Luna so she could light it. "Leave her. Even I know not to wake a sleeping giant." He answered. Dempsey had sat close to Eliana with her duffle bag in between them. "So how long have you been traveling?" Takeo asked. He sat directly across from Eliana, his hands loose in his lap. She shifted a bit to get more comfortable against Luna's scales "Been traveling for about four maybe five weeks now. It feels like a lifetime ago." Damn it really had been five weeks since they first left her world, she just hoped Luna was right about her world freezing up when they left. "It must have been difficult surviving and tracking us at the same time." Eliana hummed in agreement. "It was but I have Luna. And well we have each other. We never really stray far from one another. We have a bond that I just can't really describe." The Dragoness shifted her tail a bit trying to bring it closer to her body. Dempsey moved a bit closer to the duffle bag to avoid her tail; they were all still nervous of Luna which was understandable. "Speaking of Luna. You mentioned you raised her? How did you come about a Drachen egg?" Richtofen was now asking the question. The others all seemed to be thinking the same thing, Eliana hoped they were ready for a somewhat short story. She didn't really like to talk about how hard it was to raise Luna and how when Luna was discovered the Government tried to take her away. But she would give them her origin story. The one she knew, not of when she was at that cursed factory.

"I was fifteen when I first found her egg in the woods. I had always walked through those woods and I had never seen anything like her egg before. I normally don't take the route where I found her egg but I was forced to." Dempsey looked confused "Why were you forced to." "Maybe if you didn't interrupt she would finish what she was going to say." Nikolai snapped and motioned for her to continue. "I wasn't the most popular girl in High School and let's just say the bullies found out where I would go to get away from them after school. When I had heard their voices I ran through the woods as fast as I could. I was so scared. I ended up falling down a hill and into some gorse bushes. It hurt like a bitch but hey I was alive. I ended up waiting there until I heard them getting farther away. That is when I noticed her egg." Luna moved a bit more; her body now brushed up on Dempsey's but the Marine either didn't notice or tried to get used to the feeling of her. "It was in a batch of sunlight. Black as night with some flecks of purple on it. My first thought was that it was a rock. Then I looked at it closer and noticed the scale pattern on it. It was so cold when I picked it up so I bought it home. I told my whole family about it and my parents well they didn't believe it. But my little brother did. We kept the egg warm and safe. And finally after a month she hatched on my sixteenth birthday. She was so cute and tiny. And was covered in feathers. Which I didn't know she would have feathers. I am grateful they molted when she turned five." The men seemed interested in the story; Richtofen looked as if he was taking mental notes as he looked at Luna's head. "How did you come up with her name? Luna. That means Moon doesn't it?" Takeo stretched his left leg out and leaned back a bit to get more comfortable; Nikolai finished marinating the venison and started to sear it over the fire. Eliana's stomach growled as the smell hit her senses. "She just sorta responded to the name Luna. My friends gave me that nickname years ago. And everytime they came over they would use my nickname. Luna would always perk her ears up and rush over to the person when they called." Luna had woken up from her cat nap and stretched out, opening her mouth in a yawn her long tongue rolled out. Finally she stood up a tiny bit to arch her back; her wings opened up a tiny bit so she could stretch them. Dempsey seemed startled and moved away from her body making Eliana chuckle. "I hope you all will come to learn to get used to her. She is nice. And an amazing source of heat." Eliana hugged onto Luna's leg and nuzzled close to her. "Now. Since you guys asked me a shit ton of questions. Now it's my turn. How long have you guys been here? And I hope I am not intruding when I ask this next question. How old are you guys?" Nikolai flipped the venison over and sat back down. "We have been at the castle for over two hours. We are grateful you showed up when you did. I do not want to think of what could have happened had you not flown in." Edward answered for the group. "And as for our ages. I am thirty three." Damn. Eliana was close to guessing his age. She guessed around thirty. "I am thirty five. Though I feel older everyday." Nikolai muttered and made a point when his back cracked as he stood to check on the meat. "I am the eldest. I am thirty seven. Though just like Nikolai I feel a lot older than I am." Eliana turned to Dempsey who rubbed the back of his neck. "And I guess that makes me the youngest. I am thirty one." "Und you do not act like it at times." Edward muttered. Eliana had to suppress a snort of laughter. "Mmm I am the youngest one here then. I am twenty two. Man, I feel like a baby in the group." Dempsey turned at Eliana with a small smile on his face. "You plan on staying with us long?" He asked. Eliana rubbed the back of her neck and turned to look at Luna. "What should I say? Should I say yes. Or maybe?" Luna's ears twitched as she turned to face the group. Her eyes landed on Edward who was also looking at her. "Tell them maybe. That it all depends on circumstance." Eliana turned back to face them and shrugged. "It honestly depends on circumstances. Luna and I will stay with you guys for as long as you want us." Richtofen looked over at Nikolai and Takeo who both nodded. And then finally Dempsey who nodded as soon as he looked at him. "We would love to have you and Luna in the group. We could use your help." Eliana smiled. "Thank you. Luna and I could also help in regards to hunting. With Luna's nose and my amazing tracking abilities we could catch a lot of food." They all settled down as they ate the venison Nikolai had cooked up. Luna ate the rest of the buck's body in just three bites, Eliana kept the antlers telling Demspey that she would make him a new knife hilt out of the antler. As the fire died down so did the idle conversation as they laid down, Eliana felt bad as they all slept on the floor while she was cuddled up with Luna. One day the others would come to not be scared of Luna. Hopefully. The men were all asleep before Eliana and Luna, their light snoring bothered her slightly. "Luna. Stay here. I am going to be back. I need to place the instructions on how to build the bows in the Undercroft." Luna nodded and curled her tail closer to her body. Eliana unzipped her bag as slowly as possible as to not make too much noise. Grabbing her notebook she stood up and quietly made her way towards the entrance that led downstairs. Making her way down the steps she had to force herself to keep going; she was in the crypt of the Wolf King himself. Shaking her head clear she continued with her task, she needed to do this before the others woke up. Finally making it down to the actual Undercroft she suppressed a gasp; this place was huge in real life, the statues of the Keepers made her feel even smaller than what she was. Heading towards the pyramid itself she knelt down by the Storm Bow platform and ripped a page out of her journal, she placed it on top of the platform and put a candle on the page so it wouldn't fly away. She did the same things for the Fire Bow and Void Bow. As she walked to the Wolf Bow she heard a noise come from the stairs that lead to the Church. Eliana froze and turned to the source of the noise, squinting in the dark she tried to figure out who it was; she knew it was one of the men. If it was a zombie it would have already attacked her. Placing the paper on the platform she gripped her journal and decided to take the other way. She did not want to run into whoever it was. Hopefully they didn't see her in the dark. Walking past the entrance to the well she walked past the room with Juggernog, she would try it out later she thought. Walking down the stairs towards the Gondola panel she leaned on the cold railing and stared out at the village. It was beautiful here. She just wished that there were no zombies then she could truly enjoy it. The sun started to rise over the horizon. She closed her eyes and let the cool wind hit her face. This place felt like a fucked up paradise.

Luna woke up first out of the group. She smacked her lips before stretching out and yawning. Her limbs popped and cracked from laying on the cold floor. She noticed Eliana still had not yet returned, but yet she sensed that her Mother was safe and still nearby. Standing up she sniffed at the fire and snorted. The others were now getting up, Dempsey was mumbling about something and Nikolai looked as if he didn't get enough sleep. Takeo looked around, most likely wondering where Eliana had gone. "Where did she go?" He asked the others. They all looked around as well with confused expressions on their faces. Richtofen looked at Luna and cleared his throat. Luna turned to face him, she bent her head down to get closer to him. "Do you know where she went?" He asked her. "Oh yeah Doc. Like she'll just answer ya. She is a fucking Dragon. She can't speak." Dempsey scoffed which made Luna utter a slight growl. Takeo glared at Dempsey and looked towards Luna "Didn't Eliana say that her and Luna are never far? Maybe she does know where she is. Perhaps she can lead us." Luna nodded and twitched her ears; she walked out of the Church not waiting to see if the others followed her. Standing outside she let the sunlight hit her scales, the cool air felt nice as she opened her wings. The others walked out and looked towards the rising sun, all of them hoped the sun would at least warm them up a bit. Luna shook her head before bending her body down, she opened her wings and took off to the sky. Richtofen fell on his ass from the gust of wind. "Great. Now she left us too. We should never trust strangers. Especially ones with giant mythical beasts!" Nikolai sneered as Richtofen got back up. He looked up at the sky and noticed Luna was still flying around! "Nein look! She is looking for her!" Luna roared out loudly as she flew above the crew; they finally caught on and followed where she was flying towards. She saw Eliana leaning on the railing and let out a soft roar to not startle her. "Hello Lulu. You are up early " Luna landed awkwardly on the side of the mountain. Her back paws clung to the cliff face as her front ones gripped the rail, it bent slightly under her weight. "The others are heading this way. Did you place the papers?" Eliana nodded. "Mhm. But I think someone followed me down there. I don't know who though." She whispered back. The others had finally caught up and Dempsey seemed to sigh with relief when he saw Eliana. "Damn. You could have woken us up to let us know where you headed." He leaned on the rail next to Eliana and went to pat Luna on her snout. "Ja. Thankfully Luna here showed us you were near." Luna leaned into Dempsey's touch and let out a soft prum. She leaned back and launched herself off the cliff and flew around the front of the castle. "Like I said. Luna and I never stray far from each other. And I apologize I just needed some fresh air." Dempsey looked out and watched Luna with Eliana while the others looked around the room behind them. He turned to speak to her and noticed she was shivering slightly. "Ya cold?" He asked. "Hm? Oh yeah. It is worse here than the other two places. Also Luna always kept me warm." Dempsey shrugged his jacket off and placed it over her shoulders, Eliana blushed slightly from both the cold and the kind gesture. Richtofen rolled his eyes at the scene he was watching. Of course Dempsey would try to flirt with the first female they meet. Damned American. They needed to keep their focus on the mission at hand. The sound of the intercom turning on made the whole group jump. Eliana clutched the jacket close to her body and looked up clearly frightened. "Eagles Nest. This is Griffin Station. Come in." That voice was Doctor Groph's! Eliana licked her lips and looked back towards Richtofen, she was waiting for his response. "This is Eagles Nest. Over." Richtofen didn't sound too sure however. Dammit Edward. He needed to sound like his old insane self. She bit her lip, she knew Groph would still fall for it; for now at least. Luna had flown back and took her place by the cliff once more. Her head came in between Eliana and Dempsey. "Richtofen!? Is that you? When we didn't hear from you we feared the worse." Oh thank the Gods. Everything was going accordingly to plan. "Fear not Doctor Groph. It is me Edward. Any reports from The Giant suggesting my demise are erroneous." Hearing about the factory made Luna growl slightly. Dempsey was taken aback by this but did not flinch away this time. Instead he actually placed a shaky hand on her snout. "Easy girl. Don't make too much noise." He whispered. Luna snorted but complied. The intercom went silent and the group let out a collective sigh. "Who was that Richtofen?" Takeo asked. Richtofen took a deep breath before exhaling loudly. "That was Dr. Groph. He is currently stationed up on the Moon." Richtofen looked towards Eliana,Dempsey and Luna. Eliana sensed that Richtofen was keeping quiet in regards to the "other" Dempsey. She guessed he didn't want her to know about that. Nikolai went to ask a question but was interrupted when the sounds of the undead reached everyone's ears. The men clutched their MR6's tightly and prepared to fight the undead once more. Eliana gasped loudly. "Fuck! I left my bag in the fucking Church!" They finally realized she did not have a weapon on hand. She was fucked if she didn't get to it on time. "I can lead you to your bag. If you have a weapon that will help then you must get it quickly." Takeo offered. Eliana smiled. "Thank you Takeo. Luna can provide air support." Luna had already taken to the skies once more and was flying back towards the Church yard. Takeo and Eliana ran up the stairs and headed into the Mule Kick tunnel. A zombie came rushing out of the Trophy Room, Takeo quickly stabbed it in the chest and shot it in the face. Blood splattered everywhere but thankfully missed Eliana. Running through the Trophy Room, which Eliana noticed the Kronorium sitting on the desk she would need to come back later, they finally came to the Church yard. Luna had since landed and was smacking zombies away with her large paws, she used her tail as well in order to smack the ones coming from behind. Eliana sprinted over and made a mad dash through the Church; Richtofen was inside fighting off zombies. He noticed her run in and covered her. "Make it quick. I am running out of ammo." She slid on the floor to her bag, her knees stung but she didn't care. She reached in and grabbed both the KRM and the KN-44. She noticed something at the bottom of her bag and chuckled, reaching inside she pulled out a katana. It was in a black saya with a gold chinese styled dragon engraved into it. Smirking she tossed the strap of it over her shoulders and picked up the guns. "Edward. Here. I have no use for this." He turned and was shocked to see her handing him the KN-44. He took it and examined it. "Are you sure?" He asked as he made sure there was enough ammo in it, she nodded and gestured to her KRM. "I prefer shotguns." Pushing her bag under the workshop bench they stood side by side and waited for more zombies to appear.

Eliana took notice that the zombies seemed to be trying to enter through the front more so than the sides. Luna was doing a great job fighting them off. The Dragoness would need a bath afterwards, her black scales now had blood splatters and her purple belly seemed coated in blood. Eliana looked up at the Dragon head statue above the fireplace. It was still encased in stone! They needed to awaken it so they could get the bows! Eliana whistled loudly, catching both Richtofen's and Luna's attention. "Lulu! Let them come through! We need to feed the statue!" Richtofen looked confused and went to question Eliana but decided to do so later. Luna obeyed and backed into the Church, she was still in a defense position. The zombies came in rapidly now. Eliana gulped loudly and trained her KRM on the nearest one. She shot it right in the head, it fell to the ground with a squishy splat. The sound of a Dragon roaring and the feeling of fire made all three of them turn. The Dragon had awoken! "Ja! Feed mein brother! Feast upon the souls of the damned!" Luna shouted via telepathy. Whether the Statues were truly conscious or not it didn't matter. Together the three of them killed endless amounts of the undead. Finally after eating seven whole zombies the statue stopped moving, turned to stone once more and broke apart. Luna let out a pitiful whine as she looked at the statue's remains. Eliana patted her snout and sighed. "I know, girl. I know." Richtofen walked over to them with the KN-44 loose in his hands. "We should find the others. We need to all discuss what the next course of action will be." There was no need for that as everyone rushed over into the Church. Nikolai had a small cut on his forearm and Dempsey had got a bruise on his head. Eliana didn't even want to know how they both got hurt. "Should we really be discussing the plan in front of the newcomers?" Nikolai asked. Richtofen looked at Eliana and was shocked when he noticed she was staring right at him. Her brown eyes met his blue ones, he swallowed quietly before turning towards the others. "If they plan on joining us then they need to know what they are getting into." The sound of the Intercom made everyone jump once more. "Fucking piece of shit." Eliana grumbled and moved close to Luna. "Eagles Nest. This is Griffin Station. We have an update. Over." Richtofen looked nervous but tried to concentrate. "Doctor Groph. Have you made any progress?" Eliana tilted her head. She forgot what they were talking about. But then it hit her, Groph confirmed this when he next spoke. "Ja Doctor. The machine is ready and awaiting the conduit." Richtofen let out a soft but somewhat maniacal chuckle. "Very gut. I will proceed with Operation Shield and join you shortly." Richtofen turned to the others and went to speak to them, thinking it was the end of the conversation with Groph. "Security Protocol 9.3.5." Everyone looked at Richtofen with questioning glances, Eliana and Luna just stared blankly at him. "Uh no no. Uh no actually. Maxis and his daughter have already been dealt with." The sound of the intercom shut off once more and everyone let out a sigh of relief. "Alright. Now can we get back to what we were about to say?" Dempsey had moved over towards Eliana, he looked at her with a roll of his eyes. Germans he mouthed making Eliana giggle. Richtofen cleared his throat before continuing. "This is what we need to do in order to get the rocket back down to Earth. First we need-" He and the others were shocked by what Eliana had said next. "Oh! I know! First we need to activate that pyramid downstairs using the pressure plates! We get the Wrath of the Ancients when we feed the Dragon head statues. Then you guys need to get the Wolf,Void,Fire and Lightning bows. Oh and I almost forgot we one hundred percent need the Ragnarok DG-4's. By the way those are my favorite wonder weapons by far. And then-" Luna grabbed Eliana by the jacket Dempsey gave her with her mouth and bolted out the Church. The others just stood there in shock, Nikolai turned towards Richtofen with a glare in his eyes. Richtofen needed to question Eliana. And he needed to get her alone. 

Luna finally set Eliana down toward the furthest end of the Church yard. "Mutter! What were you thinking!? You should have let Edward say the steps!" Luna was more worried than angry. She worried that the men would now come after them and possibly attack them to get more answers. Eliana shuffled her feet and looked down. "I'm sorry Luna. I just. I just don't know what got into me. I loved doing the easter eggs with the guys and I just so happen to remember the steps. I know I should have kept my mouth shut but what's done is done." Eliana looked back towards the Church and noticed Richtofen had walked out and was heading their way. "Shit Luna. Edward is heading over. Act natural." Eliana switched to telepathy quickly. Clutching Dempsey's jacket around her tighter gave her a sense of security, Richtofen finally caught up with them. The KN-44 she had given him was slung over his shoulder by a strap. Luna turned away from Eliana and made her way back to the Church. The last thing Eliana saw was Luna's tail blade disappearing inside. Eliana looked at Richtofen and saw the calculating look behind his eyes. "I am uh guessing you have questions." She bit her lip as she waited for his response. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot. "Ja I do. But let us discuss this where the others will not hear us. Or they will not decide to eavesdrop." He motioned for her to follow him which she did with her head hung low. She was screwed.

Luna had watched Richtofen motion for Eliana to follow him, they headed up the stairs that lead to the control panel and clock tower. They ended up taking a left once they got up the stairs as they headed toward the Death Ray. Her ears perked up in curiosity. Where was Richtofen taking her Mother? She huffed loudly. If he dared to hurt her she would rip him into tiny shreds. Dempsey walked up to her and placed a shaky hand on her left leg, he still had some fear scent on him but yet he took initiative. Unlike the other three who dared not to touch her. "Hey Luna. Why are you growling for? You think the Doc is going to hurt Eliana?" Luna looked down at him and nodded. Dempsey sighed and rubbed her leg for comfort; whether that was to comfort him or herself, she had no idea. "I don't think he will. After all. I know you would kill anyone who hurt her right? She is like your mom." Luna just snorted in reply. She wished she could just speak to them already. The anticipation was clawing at her insides. Nikolai had got a fire going, he and Takeo sat across from each other and talked in low whispers. Dempsey motioned for Luna to follow him beside the fire. When he sat down she placed herself right behind him, her back legs were stretched out; her wings folded at her sides and her tail twitched like that of a cats. "I want to know how she knows what we must do. Is she a spy? And I don't think she was tracking us just to find other survivors." Nikolai stated his opinion to the other two. Takeo hummed in thought as he cleaned his katana idly. "I think she and Luna were sent here for a reason. A good reason that is. The spirits are at ease with both of them." Luna approved of Takeo already. Dempsey placed his hands on the back of his head and leaned back onto Luna, her muscles quivered slightly. "I don't know why they are here. But damn. Am I happy we finally got a hot chick on the team. Even if she has a big flying reptile." Luna rolled her eyes and decided to lick her claws clean. The blood of the zombies made her feel queasy but it needed to be done. "Speaking of. How do we know she isn't using the Dragon? I highly doubt she raised her. Luna may seem smart but for all we know she could be trained as if she were a dog." Nikolai all but spat out. Luna had enough. Slamming her paw down on the cold concrete floor she got everyone's attention. She turned to face Nikolai and uttered such a deep growl that it seemed to shake the area near them. Nikolai stood very still. "Compare me to a mutt once more und I will pick the flesh clean off your bone!" All was silent until Dempsey spoke first. "Holy shit you can talk! Why didn't you do it before!?" Luna groaned loudly. Great now she had screwed up too, well she dug this hole she could dig herself out. "Ja I can talk. I didn't do it before because I had no need to. Also the fact that you are all still scared of me made me hesitant. A Drachen is one thing. A talking one at that is another." She kept licking her claws as if nothing happened. The Dragoness just hoped her Mother would return sooner rather than later.

Richtofen had led Eliana to the old rooms located in the eastern side of the Castle. He had chosen Samantha's room as it was the only one that looked somewhat decent. He also still noticed Dempsey's jacket around her figure, she could use the blankets from the bed to warm her up instead. He made a motion with his hand indicating that she could sit down. She sat on the edge of the bed at first before deciding to sit towards the middle, she sat with her legs stretched out to the side. She stared at him with her dark brown eyes. He felt as if her eyes held many secrets. As if she has seen and experienced many things. He let out a sigh before speaking. "How did you know what we must do hm? Und don't say that it was guess work. I can tell when a person is not truthful." Eliana gulped and rubbed her wrists gently. Her body seemed to shake a bit. "Well...you see the funny thing is…" She stopped for a moment to think. No. She couldn't tell him just yet that their world was a thing of fiction! She had just met them yesterday evening! Finally deciding on what to say she prayed that he would believe her. "I have read the Kronorium as well. I have seen what can happen. What will happen. And even what could happen." Well she wasn't lying. She had read the Kronorium via a site provided by a YouTuber. And she had seen bits and pieces of it provided by the game itself, she just hoped he would buy into her lie. Richtofen was taken aback by this revelation. "You have read that cursed book as well? Then you must know what I plan on doing." All he got was her nodding as a response. "Yes. Luna and I know of your plans. That is why we came here. Why we traveled to this Dimension to begin with." Eliana decided to wrap the large red blanket around herself. She really needed to change out of her tank top and soon. Richtofen tilted his head curiously. "You traveled to our Dimension? How? Where do you come from?" She shifted under the blankets and let out a sigh. Here goes nothing. "I come from a far off Dimension. I come from the year 2020. There are no zombies. However there is a worldwide pandemic happening. Luna can open up portals so long as she is well rested." And has enough of the Element nearby. But she would not mention that to him now. "So Luna came through a portal und brought you here? Why?" He stood in front of her with his arms crossed. So this woman came from the future, that explained her odd clothing and even her way of speech. "She just said that she needed my help...and yes Luna can talk. She just doesn't like too in front of strangers. After all you are all still scared of her. If she were to talk she feared that you guys would be even more skittish." Richtofen pinched the bridge of his nose and said something in German. Eliana tilted her head to glance at the blood vials on his vest. She could make out their numbers as clear as day, 481B and 386A, they contained the blood of Sal and Finn from Mob of the Dead. Eliana leaned forward and went to touch them. Richtofen flinched away and glared at her. "What are you doing?" Eliana shook her head and licked her lips. "Sorry. I just uh...Nothing." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, a blush was starting to form on her face. Richtofen turned to walk out and looked back at Eliana. "Come. We should go and regroup with the others. We have been away too long." She stood up quickly and decided to take the blanket with her. After all some extra warmth would do her some good.

Finally heading into the Church they looked down at the group and watched as they laughed at each other's jokes. Luna was on her side close to the work bench, Dempsey was leaning on her neck and was just finishing up a crude joke. They all laughed. Even Luna let out a chuckle. Luna's ears perked up and she turned to look up at Richtofen and Eliana, her tail finally stopped twitching. "Ah gut. Took you two long enough." Eliana was caught off guard that Luna spoke in front of the other three. Richtofen seemed taken aback by Luna's accent. A German dragon. How interesting. "Don't worry Mutter. I already made them aware that I can speak." Eliana was the first to walk down the stairs, Richtofen followed close behind making sure he didn't step on the blanket that dragged behind her. Eliana took her place right at Luna's belly and curled up. "Mmm warmth." She cooed and cuddled closer. Dempsey nodded in agreement. "It's great to have a walking furnace around. Nice and toasty." The other three looked at the two hesitantly, whilst they were cold they weren't too certain about getting close to Luna. The sound of Luna's stomach growling made everyone realize they needed food. Takeo went to stand until Eliana stopped him. "Maybe Luna and I could go hunting for you guys. After all Luna can carry a lot more prey." Luna licked her lips at the thought of hunting. She loved it. The thrill of the chase. Eliana stood and let the blanket fall to the floor. Dempsey shot up from the floor as Luna rose to her paws. "Why don't I come with you guys? Three will be better than two." Dempsey asked. Nikolai snorted and let out a laugh. "Quit flirting American. It does you no good." Eliana blushed and tried to ignore Nikolai's gaze. She turned to Dempsey and hummed in thought. "Well I planned on flying on Luna to reach the woods. But I don't know if you want to fly on her just yet." Luna's wings twitched at the mention of flying. Being in the sky was like breathing for her, she needed to soar. Luna bent her head down and nudged Dempsey. He chuckled softly and hummed in thought. "I mean. I'm not afraid of heights. So why not." Luna wagged her tail and got into a play bow like a dog. Eliana rolled her eyes. "So you guys wait here. Dempsey, Luna and I will find some food. I wonder if we can find a boar…" Richtofen, Nikolai and Takeo watched as they walked out of the Church; Eliana was already climbing up onto Luna's back. "Hmm to be in the sky. Upon the back of a mighty beast. Sounds like a fairy tale." Takeo muttered out. It was true. Richtofen tried to push down his jealousy as Dempsey climbed up onto Luna and sat behind Eliana. They all looked inside the Church, Eliana waved goodbye before Luna took a running start. She used the broken down vehicle to launch herself up into the sky. The sound of Dempsey letting out a screech made the men laugh loudly. "For a man who claims he isn't afraid sure screams like a little girl." Nikolai laughed out. Takeo laughed softer. "It seems our American friend wishes to impress her." Richtofen continued to stare at the spot where Luna had been. He had a million thoughts running through his mind. Finally sitting down by the fire he noticed something missing from the area, Eliana's bag. Turning his head he saw it was placed under the workbench. Maybe that is where she kept her Kronorium? Did her's differ from the one he read? He would have to ask her later. He grabbed the blanket she left behind and wrapped it around himself. The blanket now had her scent all over it; the smell of vanilla hit his senses. It was calming in an odd way. He closed his eyes and tried to tune out the conversation Nikolai and Takeo were having. He needed rest.

Dempsey clutched onto Eliana tightly as Luna soared through the sky. The cold air hit his face harshly. How could Eliana stand this? This felt like hell! Luna finally steadied herself and glided towards the woods to the right of the castle. Dempsey looked up towards the moon and smiled wide. Now that Luna was gliding steady in the air he could truly enjoy the scenery. Eliana's hair tickled his neck but he didn't mind. Just being close to someone gave him comfort. "Be prepared for descent! It will feel weird on the stomach!" Her voice was carried off by the wind. She was right about the descent, it made his stomach feel like it was doing flips. When Luna touched down on the soft fresh snow Dempsey slid off of her back and felt as if his legs were jello. Eliana slid off and landed on the ground harshly, her boots crunched in the snow. "Alright. Let Luna do the tracking. When she finds something she will let me know. Then we go in for the kill." Luna went on ahead, she moved quickly yet quietly through the woods. She was grateful for her dark scales and for the fact that she was downwind. Eliana and Dempsey followed behind her. Dempsey whistled softly and looked around. He had so many questions he wanted to ask Eliana, yet he had no idea where to start. Biting his lip he spoke up first. "So uh. You have anybody back home waiting for ya?" He hoped she would say no when it came to having a fiance or husband. Eliana hummed in thought "Just my family and my friends. I miss my friends a little bit more. They are like my brothers and sisters." Eliana's eyes focused on the ground in front of her. Dammit. He just had to go and make her sad. "I'm sorry if I upset you." Placing his hand on her shoulder he forced them to stop walking. Eliana turned and looked up at him with a smile on her face. "You didn't upset me. I am always happy to talk about my friends and family." They stopped talking and kept downwind of Luna, she had found the track of an animal. "Shhh get down." Eliana whispered as she crouched behind a fallen tree; Dempsey followed her and sat behind her. Luna had found a herd of deer, her ears were perked forward and she got into a hunting crouch. She seemed to be eyeing the only two bucks in the herd, it seemed as if their antlers had recently fallen off for the winter. Luna got as closed as she could before she pounced; the other deer scattered as Luna killed both of the bucks in one blow. The Dragoness looked back over to the two "They will feed us good tonight!" Dempsey and Eliana walked over to Luna and helped her put the bucks on her back.

The other three, were closer to the fire. They all were shivering visibly from the cold. "You know. Maybe snuggling next to the Dragon might not be a bad idea." Nikolai said through his chattering teeth, Takeo just nodded his head and tried to focus on staying warm. Richtofen clutched the blanket around his body tighter, the warmth and scent of Eliana had lured him into a stage of comfort. He was content. The sound of wings flapping made them turn. "They are back. Thank the heavens." Takeo uttered as he finally let out a shiver. Luna landed right in front of the Church, she crouched down on her belly to allow Eliana and Dempsey to slide off. They had a good hunt from what Richtofen could tell. Two bucks were on the back of Luna and Dempsey had a snow hare and a pheasant attached to his gun belt. Dempsey helped Eliana down by grabbing her waist and placing her down on the ground. Richtofen snorted and rolled his eyes at the display. Dempsey was indeed trying too hard. They entered the Church with their kills, Eliana had taken the rabbit from Dempsey and had it slung over her shoulder. "So who is hungry?" She looked around the group and tilted her head. "Hey Luna. Light the fire a bit more. They are turning into popsicles." She sat down next to Richtofen and placed her rabbit near the fire wood, Luna smacked her lips and opened her mouth to let out a spew of dark fire. The campfire lit up quickly and the men immediately tried to get close to warm up. Luna laid down behind Eliana and Richtofen, Dempsey and Nikolai had grabbed both of the bucks and went to prepare them; Takeo had decided to prepare the pheasant and snow hare. Richtofen stared blankly at the fire, the sounds of it cracking and popping made him tired. Eliana leaned back on Luna and snuggled into her belly "I have an idea. If you guys are willing to listen." They all turned to face her, Nikolai had to stop skinning the deer. "Since the fire will obviously go out when we go to sleep. Why don't we all go near Luna for warmth. We don't want to get hypothermia." Luna laid her head in her paws and curled her tail close, it sat right near Richtofen. Nikolai and Takeo looked at each other with hesitant looks; they still weren't too sure about Luna still. Dempsey was already done skinning and gutting his buck, he placed the body right by Luna's mouth and placed his hands on his hips; Luna opened her eyes and sniffed at the body of the buck. She gripped one of it's legs in her teeth and started to dig in. Dempsey took off his gloves and placed them to the side, he sat down next to Eliana and leaned up on Luna's belly. He placed his arm around her and closed his eyes. "You guys have no idea what you're missing. She is really warm." Richtofen looked at Luna's leg and hummed in thought. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He leaned back and laid his head on her thigh, Luna's muscles twitched under him. She was really warm, Eliana cleared her throat and he looked at her. "It's warmer near her belly. There is still plenty of room near us." Dempsey's arm was still wrapped around her, he seemed to refuse to let her go. Richtofen scooted closer to the two of them and laid his head down on Luna's belly. Eliana was right. Luna's belly was a lot warmer than her leg. Richtofen curled himself up tighter in the blanket and let out a sleepy sigh. The others had started to eat and make idle conversation. But to Richtofen it sounded like distant muttering. Someone nudged his shoulder which made him jump up, he looked around with wide eyes expecting to come face to face with a zombie. Instead his eyes met Eliana's. In the light of the fire her eyes seemed to be a honey color instead of the dark brown he saw before. "You need to eat. I saved some rabbit for you. Dempsey almost devoured it." She whispered. He looked around and noticed the others were asleep, only he and Eliana were awake. "How long was I asleep?" He asked as he sat up and started to eat the rabbit haunch. It was good. "About an hour. I let you sleep. You must be exhausted." She sat cross legged and had her hands on her thighs. He swallowed and nodded. "Ja. The fate of the universe on my shoulders makes it hard to sleep." He let out a soft sigh. Eliana looked at him with soft eyes. She knew about his time in Dimension 2210, and how he had to kill his child self. The poor thing. He had seen and gone through a lot. She placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort, he looked up at her and met her eyes. "Well. Now you have me and Luna to help you. If you would allow us too. Three people is better than one." Richtofen finished up his rabbit and set the plate to the side. "I would be very grateful for that. It is quite exhausting. Especially since the others do not know why I am doing this." He hugged the blanket and frowned. It no longer felt warm and it no longer smelled like her. "We should get some sleep. Tomorrow you and I can discuss what we need to do. We should go for the bows tomorrow. Since there is, four bows you guys can take them. I am fine without one. Just as long as I get the Ragnaroks I am set." He smiled. He was glad someone else besides him liked the Ragnaroks. "I created them. Fine weapons." Eliana nodded. "It must have been hard creating them. Hell creating a weapon from scratch in general seems difficult. I admire someone with intelligence." Richtofen blushed from the complement, she laid back down by Luna's stomach. He now noticed Dempsey had moved closer to the Dragoness' head, he was curled up close to her neck. "We should sleep. I have a funny feeling we will be here for a long time." She closed her eyes and started to breathe slowly. Richtofen sat closer to her and leaned his head close to hers. He finally closed his eyes as the smell of her perfume lured him to sleep. He hoped that they both would stay in the group until the very end. He had a funny feeling that they came here for a reason. And that reason involved all of them together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to add me on my ther social medias!  
> YouTube: Luna Maxis  
> Call of Duty:Nazi Zombies Amino: Luna Maxis  
> Discord: Luna Marie Maxis #5732  
> PS4: LunaMaxis115 (I mainly play BO3,BO4 and Minecraft.)


	9. So It Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crew now finally get started on the bows. Richtofen and Eliana discuss the Easter Egg more and Dempsey is a jelly boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. Hope everyone is doing ok ^^   
> Anyway hope you all enjoy this chapter. Next chapter is going to be filled with some time skips as I already have plans for Zetsubou No Shima (Legion will be writing up those chapters)
> 
> Me, Legion and Erftan basically already know how we want the story to end. We just need to put it to paper so to speak lol.

Eliana groaned as the sun shone through the doors of the Church. The warmth that Luna provided made her groggy, she just wanted to sleep all day. She nuzzled closer to another source of warmth; the feeling of someone's breath on her hair made her open her eyes wide. The first thing she noticed was the red blanket, she saw a bit of Richtofen's vest. Oh my Gods; she was snuggling with Richtofen! He was very warm and his natural scent was nice and calming. She felt him move a bit, her face was close to his neck, her nose was right near his jugular. Luna stretched and yawned loudly, she smacked her lips and went to turn to wake up Dempsey, Eliana and Richtofen. Her blood ran cold as she saw Richtofen was cuddling up with Eliana! His chin was on top of her head and he looked like he was at peace. Eliana seemed to be nuzzled really close to him as well, her hands looked as if they were in the blankets itself. Luna uttered a low growl before full out growling. Her whole body shook in anger. Everyone was awake now. Richtofen pushed away from Eliana; both of them had blushes on their cheeks. Nikolai and Takeo pulled their weapons out and looked around whilst Dempsey clung onto Luna tight. Richtofen cleared his throat. "Guten morgen everyone." Everyone uttered their good mornings, Dempsey stretched out and yawned. He put his arm around Eliana and looked down at her. "How did you sleep last night?" Eliana shifted a bit, she looked towards Richtofen and noticed he was looking out towards the Church yard. She needed to apologize for snuggling up to him, they had just met two days ago after all. She did not wish to push past their comfort zones. Luna got up and stretched out like a cat, shaking herself awake she made her way towards the exit. Eliana watched as she walked outside; the Dragoness climbed onto the broken vehicle and basked in the rising sun. Of course Luna would choose now to sun herself. Eliana sat in her spot as everyone else got up and prepared for the day; the woman found it odd that the zombies came out only during the day, and not at night like they did in the map. Maybe things were different now that her and Luna were present. Had they fucked up the cycle? Or fixed it? She would need to find out soon. Glancing at her bag a thought crossed her mind. "Do any of you know if there are showers here? Did you guys get a chance to explore a bit before we got here?" The three shook their heads and Richtofen stood, the blanket still on his shoulders. He looked adorable. "Ja. I can show you where they are. They are not far from the rooms." Eliana stood and grabbed her bag from under the workbench she did not want to take out her clothes in front of them. So she had to settle for taking the entire bag with her. Following Richtofen up the stairs that lead to the rooms she kept repeating the Easter Egg steps in her head. They stopped at the door right next to one of the paintings they would need to unlock the Wolf Bow; the painting was beautiful and was of the Wolf King himself on his throne. Next to him were his two wolves, a dark colored one and a lighter wolf. Richtofen finally got the door unstuck and motioned inside. "The showers are not too big but they will do. Und try to wear better clothes suited for the environment. Last thing you need is hypothermia." Eliana thanked him and watched him walk away. She closed the door behind her and placed her bag down underneath a sink, she unzipped it and browsed through the contents. Grabbing a gray sweater and a new pair of jeans and socks she placed them on the sink. The last things she grabbed was her soap and shampoo; she was upset that she did not grab the conditioner but it was whatever at this point. She took off her boots and winced in pain; her feet were killing her. She could definitely use a foot massage. She slowly stripped out of her articles of clothing and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair looked like a tangled mess and her body seemed too skinny. Huffing loudly she turned to the biggest shower stall and went in, turning on the warm water she hummed in delight. Oh yeah she would take her time in here.

Luna had closed her eyes as the sun kept on rising high in the sky. The feeling of it hitting her scales made her feel lazy. Not only did it help her maintain her warmth but the sun would help her heal up as well. Her body had been aching for the past four days. She needed to train up more and get her muscles used to fighting again. Especially on the ground. Takeo walked out and took in the sunlight as well. He turned to look at Luna and was not shocked to see she had turned her head to face him. "Guten morgen Takeo." "Good morning Idaina Doragon." Luna's ears tilted towards him in confusion. "What does that translate to?" Her face was now closer to him, he could feel her breathe on him now. He shifted a bit. "It means Great Dragon." Luna huffed and looked up at the sky. "Did you plan on going hunting? If so I can help you. I wish to be in the air again." Her wings twitched as a slight breeze drifted through; Takeo closed his eyes and let out a content sigh. "It would be an honour to hunt alongside you. But I do not wish to fly just yet. I fear great heights." He watched as she got down from the busted up vehicle and shook herself. "That is fine. I will wait for you to head out. Then I shall follow your trail. Whatever you kill I can bring back so you do not have to carry it." Takeo nodded and gave her his thanks. He set off through the Trophy Room once more, when he disappeared Luna turned to look in the Church. The other three were present but her Mother was absent. She tilted her head and went halfway into the Church; she sniffed the air for Eliana's scent. "Where is mein Mutter?" The group stopped their conversation to give her their full attention, Dempsey was the first to speak. "She went to the Showers. Been about a good five maybe ten minutes now." Luna's ears twitched. She needed to sneak off in her human illusion at some point and bathe as well. Hell they all needed showers, her nose felt like it was on fire from their stench. Her sense picked up on something else however; it was coming from Richtofen. He still smelled like Eliana. They must have cuddled all night long in order for her scent to mix with his. Her pupils turned to slits. Huffing loudly she turned and took to the skies. She needed to clear her head. Finally reaching her desired height she glided and looked down below for Takeo. Maybe some hunting would clear her head.

Eliana finally stepped out of the shower. The steam from it fogged the mirrors in the room. She already missed the warmth of it, she just prayed that they had showers when they went to Zetsubou No Shima. She shuddered at the thought of the large spiders that would be there. She grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped herself in it, grabbing the ponytail from the sink she lifted her hair up into a messy bun. Her hair would need to air dry; or maybe she could ask Luna to breathe on her hair. Hmmm that could work. She leaned close to the sink and wiped the fog away from the mirror. She smiled at her reflection. Now that she had a shower she felt so much better. The sound of the door opening made her freeze up, she turned to face the door and prepared for anything. Richtofen poked his head in and went to say something. He stopped and stared at her with wide eyes; Eliana's face was a bright red as their eyes locked. He gasped finally realising what he was seeing and immediately left the bathroom, he slammed the door shut. The sound of his footsteps retreating was the only thing she could hear. 

It had been hours since that embarrassing incident happened. Eliana and Richtofen had refused to look at each other afterwards. Luna had noticed the change and decided to question her Mother, after they took care of the zombies. Nikolai and Dempsey had finished feeding the Dragon statue in the left castle courtyard; whilst Takeo and Eliana finished feeding the one in the Undercroft. The Wrath of the Ancients were now ready ro be picked up. Luna had been in the Church Courtyard fighting off the zombies and trying her best to help out Richtofen. The man decided to be alone from the group so he had time to think about his next course of action. After they acquired the bows they would need to upgrade the bows. He had been down to the Undercroft and noticed that there were papers on the tables for each bow; the others had grabbed a paper each and chose their bows. Richtofen had also noticed Eliana and Nikolai were staring at each other as if they knew something that he didn't. Takeo had decided to get the Void Bow, Nikolai made claim to the Fire Bow and Dempsey went with the Wolf Bow; which Eliana was happy enough to help him upgrade it. Meanwhile Edward had no choice but to choose the Storm Bow, he had no complaints in the matter. They all gathered to grab their bows by the tomb of the Wolf King, when Dempsey grabbed his bow the sound of the intercom startled them. "Fucking bastard." Eliana grumbled. "Richtofen! The security feeds are somewhat alarming. What on earth is going on down there?" Richtofen cleared his throat before responding. "It seems the area is no longer secure." His voice sounded a little raspy as he spoke. When the intercom cut off the group let out a collective sigh. "Wait. If he is looking at the security feeds then he must see Luna. Why didn't he mention her?" For the first time in hours Eliana made eye contact with Richtofen. The thoughts on what occurred hours earlier was towards the back of her mind. Now that she mentioned it, why didn't Groph mention Luna? "It does not matter. Right now what is important is we get the other Dempsey back down to Earth." He looked to Eliana and cleared his throat. Eliana licked her lips before speaking. "Right now we need to upgrade the bows. It seems as if the Wolf Bow is the easy one so I will help out Dempsey. Also I adore wolves anyway." Nikolai took a quick glance at his paper then back at Eliana. They made awkward eye contact. Dempsey patted Eliana on the shoulder. "Well come on guys. The sooner we get this started the quicker I can meet this other me. Two Dempsey's are better than one." He smirked at Eliana making her blush and turn her gaze downward. Nikolai went to start the Fire Bow whilst Takeo decided to head back down to the Undercroft; Dempsey and Eliana started to go up the stairs. Richtofen leaned against the wall and stared at his piece of paper. He would need to wall run in the Undercroft for his bow. Someone standing in front of him made him look up from the writing. Eliana now stood in front of him with her hands behind her back, her face looked as if she had a million questions on her mind. "I think we should talk about the steps we need to take in order to get the other Dempsey. So we can plan ahead." Her voice was at a whisper in case the others decided to come back up. "Agreed. We can discuss what we need to do further in private. Let's go to Samantha's old room." He motioned for her to take the lead, he followed behind her closely.

Luna had been laying down in the Church right by the entrance; keeping an eye out for any of the Undead. Her ears perked up as Eliana and Richtofen started to walk towards her. She lifted her head and looked at Eliana. "Where are you two off too?" Eliana went to answer before Richtofen butt in. "We are going to speak in private. There are matters we need to discuss." Luna made eye contact with him and felt her entire body chill. His eyes bore into hers. Her pupils were slits and her vision blurred. "Lulu. Lulu...Luna!" Her Mother's voice snapped her out of the daze and she turned to look at Eliana instead. The concern in her eyes made her pupils wide once more. "I'll fill you in later Lulu. I promise." With a gentle pat on her nose the Dragoness watched the two of them walk away. Watching them walk so close together made her growl softly. She didn't like him being so close to her Mother. Even if this was the Primis version. Rolling onto her side she got more comfortable, she could afford to relax for a bit. Her ears were still alert however as she listened to Takeo and Dempsey start doing the upgrades on their bows. 

Stepping into Samantha's room still felt odd to Eliana. The little drawings that the child left here just made it worse. Sitting on the bed she watched as Richtofen leaned on the dresser across from her, his arms were crossed and his face serious. "You know. It wouldn't kill you to smile. No need to be so grim all the damn time." She huffed out. Yet his facial expression stayed the same. "What do you know about the steps that need to be done in order to secure the other Dempsey." Eliana leaned back a bit to get more comfortable. She bit her lip before answering. "I know we need to step on the pressure plates surrounding the pyramid downstairs, which Takeo and I already did. We need the upgraded bows. We need the Ragnaroks as well. Then we need to shoot these things called Wisps in order to go back in time to get a code." She stopped and looked at Richtofen. His eyes were wide at the fact she knew so much. Why hadn't the Kronorium mentioned any of this to him? Why to her? "Those are only some of the steps we need to take. We should try to get those done today. Then tomorrow we could start doing the other half of the steps." He noticed she seemed a bit stressed out. He knew he wasn't helping by staring at her with such a stern expression. Sighing, he walked away from the dresser and headed towards the bed, Eliana jumped slightly when he sat down next to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder; she still seemed tense. "I am assuming you know what I plan to do. Why I need to secure the other Dempsey." All he got for a reply was a nod; he noticed some tears were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. He gulped and stared ahead. He wasn't the best at comforting people. Let alone a woman he had just met four days ago. He had no idea what to do. He didn't know if he should walk away or maybe offer her some comforting words. His body moved by itself, wrapping his arms around her, he brought her close to his chest. She let the tears fall freely now. His hand rubbed up and down on her back. He laid his chin on her head and just sat there holding her close. Something deep inside of him wished she had never read that cursed book. He didn't want her to know the things he knew and saw. 

Dempsey had finished some of the steps for his bow. All he needed to do was place the wolf skull back on the wolf skeleton downstairs. Knowing Eliana wanted to see that part be done he went searching for her. He checked the Church first and found Luna on her side in a deep sleep, her right hind leg twitched in the air; and a soft snore came from her muzzle. Rolling his eyes he kept searching. Takeo walked past him with his paper in his hand, it seemed as if he was also at the halfway point. "Hey Tak. Have you seen Eliana around?" Takeo nodded. "Yes. She and Richtofen were heading towards the rooms earlier." Dempsey clenched his fists tightly at the thought of Eliana being alone with Richtofen. He did not trust him at all. Giving his thanks to Takeo he headed up the stairs and towards the rooms. His heart was racing, he didn't know what he would see. Hearing crying made that feeling in his gut worse. He peeked inside Samantha's room and had to suppress a growl. Eliana and Richtofen were sitting on Samantha's bed. Eliana was curled up in his lap with her face hidden close to his chest, Richtofen's head rested on her chin and he was whispering something in German to her. Richtofen's hand now went to pet her hair. Dempsey gripped the paper tighter in his hand before turning and stomping away from the room. He needed to be alone for a while.

Eliana couldn't remember the last time she cried this hard. Let alone for a fictional character. Then again were they now truly fictional? After all they were right in front of her eyes and hell Richtofen was hugging her. He sure felt real, she could hear his steady heartbeat which helped calm her down. She had stopped crying and focused more on listening to his heart and his voice. He was speaking in German. Most likely offering words of comfort to her. She closed her eyes and started to breathe more slowly. She was growing tired; running around killing zombies and trying to help out where she could. She willed herself not to fall asleep especially on Richtofen of all people. But the sound of his heart and the warmth radiating from his body made her succumb to sleep. Richtofen stopped petting her hair and pulled back a back to check on her. She had fallen asleep. Her cheeks were red and tear marks were still running down her face. He sighed and looked around. Should he leave her to sleep in the bed? No he couldn't. If he did he knew Luna would be upset and try to get to her Mother. He slowly laid her down on the bed and stood up, he placed one arm under her legs and one to support her back. He lifted her up in a princess hold; making sure he would not drop her he made his way to the Church. He hoped the others would not question why they were gone or even why he was carrying her. Finally reaching the stairs to that lead down to the Church he noticed the others had started a fire and were cooking up a boar. Making his way down the steps he was careful not to make jerky movements; Luna was the first to look at him. Her pupils were slits when she noticed Eliana in his arms, she got up making Dempsey fall over. "Hey!" He exclaimed before noticing Richtofen. "What happened to her?" Nikolai and Takeo finally paid attention to what was happening. Takeo's eyes widened in concern. "She is fine. Just tired." He tensed up when Luna bent down to sniff Eliana's face; noticing the tear marks she growled lowly. "Why was she crying?" Hearing Luna speak this close made him shiver, he now noticed when she spoke a low rumble came from her throat. "I will tell you about it later. Not right now. She needs to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow." Luna snorted and nudged Richtofen a bit. Luna laid back down by the fire, her tail tip twitched. Richtofen walked over her tail and placed Eliana against Luna's stomach; he grabbed the blanket and placed it over her. Sitting down a bit away from Eliana he leaned on Luna, much to her displeasure. "So what do we do next? After the bows?" Nikolai had finished cooking up his piece of boar meat and waited for it to cool down. Richtofen noticed that all eyes were on him now, even Luna's. He cleared his throat. "Well I discussed the steps with Eliana moments ago. We both know what needs to be done. After the bows we must obtain the DG-4's. Then there will be these little things that Eliana mentioned. I believe she called them Wisps. She says we must shoot them in certain locations." The others listened intently as he finished explaining what needed to be done for tomorrow. "When we are done with those steps then Eliana and I will talk further. But for now we need to pace ourselves. As to not get too exhausted." He noticed Dempsey staring at Eliana as he said this. The woman had not woke up from her deep slumber and instead snuggled closer to Luna. 

After they were done eating they all started to settle down for the night. Dempsey made his way back to Luna and sat near Eliana, he looked at Richtofen from the corner of his eye. The German had kept his distance from them and was closer to Luna's hind leg than her stomach. The marine yawned loudly; he stretched his arms up and cracked his back. He laid down right next to Eliana and decided to snuggle a bit closer to her. Luna laid her head down on her paws and closed her eyes, her wing closed over the three of them hiding them from the eyes of Nikolai and Takeo. Richtofen was on the outskirts of her wing but was still somewhat hidden. He made a sound of surprise and moved so that he could still see beyond her wing. Dempsey closed his eyes and focused on both Luna and Eliana's breathing. 'Tomorrow I'll talk with Eliana about what I saw. I don't think it is a good idea to be so close to Richtofen.' He thought before he let sleep take over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to comment down below ^^ I promise you the next chapter will be out in a day or two.
> 
> Also if you guys are interested I plan on Livestreaming some of the Easter Eggs soon on my YouTube channel ^^ Check the last chapter for it ^^


	10. Steps Are Taken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliana ends up getting sick from exhaustion as the men are forced to do the steps without her. Eliana meets someone she thought she would not see until later. And Groph finally knows about Luna's existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this Chapter is somewhat short for a good reason. I promise. Also I decided to do time skips in this chapter as I did not want to go too in detail with steps. After all we all already know what needs to be done.

The feeling of being lifted up made Eliana stir a tiny bit. She mumbled softly and tried to ignore the feeling of swinging around as if she were in a hammock. The sounds of gunshots and explosions seemed distant in her ears. She tried to force her eyes to open but she couldn't. Her body ached and was weak with exhaustion. What was even happening? Why couldn't she open her eye's. The feeling of being placed down on a warm mattress made her wonder even more. Clearly one of the men had carried her. As Luna had yet to show them her human illusion. She heard talking and the sounds of zombies in the distance. She also could have sworn she heard Luna's wings flapping overhead. Why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she wake up? And why in the fuck did she feel so hot?

Dempsey had placed Eliana down on Samantha's bed gently. The woman had a high fever since early this morning. Richtofen had checked on her and made a comment on how pale she looked as well. When he went to pick her up Dempsey had immediately scooped her up first. Richtofen had followed him into the room while Luna was forced to follow in the air outside. The Dragoness had landed on the roof outside and was breathing fire on the zombies below. It seemed as if they were coming full force today. Which was bad news especially since they were one person down. Dempsey sat on the bed next to Eliana and brushed his gloved hand on her forehead. She was drenched in sweat but shivered whenever he tried to take away her blanket. "How did she get sick? Will she be ok?" He turned to look at Richtofen. The Doctor was keeping an eye on the other side of the room, he was looking out through Maxis' room in case the zombies came from inside the Castle itself. "It seems she has become sick due to exhaustion. It will pass so long as she rests and has plenty of fluids." Eliana groaned in pain making Dempsey turn to her again. He tucked her in and lightly brushed his lips on her forehead. "Maybe she has a canteen in her bag? It's downstairs right? We should bring it up here." Richtofen only nodded in response and had already made his way back into the Castle. Dempsey took one last look at Eliana before going outside the Castle, he looked up at Luna and called out. "Luna! Watch from this side! I need to finish up my bow! Roar if you need backup!" The only response he got from her was a twitch from her left ear before she continued to roast the zombies down below. He ran over the bridge and jumped down from the opening on it; he made his way down to the Undercroft. Shooting a zombie in the head with his Vesper he pushed forward. A horde of about ten zombies ran at him, he unloaded his Vesper at them. The bullets sprayed through their flesh and some bullets connected with their heads. Blood sprayed out everywhere. He reloaded his gun before moving forward. He knew Eliana wanted to see this but he couldn't wait any longer. Bending down by the canine skeleton he placed the skull on it, a blue glow came from it and a large wolf appeared before his eyes. It looked at him before turning it's snout up to the air and letting out a howl. Oh yeah. Eliana definitely would have loved this.

Richtofen had secured Eliana's bag and was shooting at any oncoming zombies with his KN-44. The bag was a bit heavy and hung awkwardly off his shoulder, it also made his movements somewhat sluggish. Racing up the stairs he returned to the room where Eliana was. The poor woman had tossed and turned and was sweating profusely. Setting the bag down by the nightstand he took a seat beside her. He brushed the back of his hand over her forehead. She was burning up even worse now! He needed to act quickly. He pulled the covers off her body and ignored her whine from feeling the chilly air. He took off her boots first and then started to unbutton her pants. Richtofen prayed the others would not come in. He needed to do this so she would not overheat. With some effort he got her out of her pants and finally stripped her shirt off. His eyes were on her face the whole time, he placed the blanket back over her body. Her breathing now seemed a bit more steady. Standing up he glanced back one more time before heading back inside the castle. After all he needed to finish some things.

A dark landscape surrounded her on all sides. Everywhere she looked was just an expanse of darkness. No lights were in sight. Where was she? She called out to Luna and waited anxiously. There was no response from her Daughter. Her breathing increased from pure anxiety as she kept spinning around; looking for a source of light or another person. A loud crash came from behind her. Jumping up she let out a shrill scream. She now found herself in a dark and damp forest. What in the fuck was that and where in the hell was she!? Her body betrayed her as she headed closer to where the sound came from. No. No! Stop moving! Eliana tried to force her legs to stop but she kept going. Great, she was going to die like a basic white bitch in a horror movie. How original. She came upon a run down building. Peeking her head inside she looked left and right. "Hello? Who's there?" She called out. She could see her breath in the air. It was chilly in the room; she hugged herself to maintain some warmth. A lone figure stood by a large oak table, his back was facing Eliana. Holding in a gasp she noticed who it was. "Oh great...it's you." She huffed out. The man turned around and she was face to face with Dr. Monty himself. "Quack quack motherfucker. Quack...quack."

Luna landed in the smaller courtyard right outside of the rooms. The smell of burnt flesh made her slightly queasy. The undead were ruthless today. It is as if they knew what they were planning to do. Speaking of such plans, the men had all finally acquired their chosen bows. Luna noticed Dempsey with the spectral wolf earlier, the beast was pointing out where his master's remains had been laid. She heard Eliana inside moaning in pain; her poor Mother was suffering. Luna tried to link a connection over so she could ease Eliana's pain. But it seemed as if Eliana was blocking Luna's mental link away. How odd. Very odd. The sound of a Margwa made her ears perk up. "Nein. A three headed beast here?" She scanned the courtyard with baited breath but saw no sign of the creature. Nor did she hear the others call out for her. The sound of the creature kept appearing and disappearing, Luna finally understood. They were doing the wisp part of the Easter Egg. There was nothing she could do to help out now. The static of the Intercom came through. "Richtofen I am observing your current actions. I must confess to being alarmed. Would you care to explain what you are doing in the company of our enemies and a Dragon? Richtofen? Richtofen!?" Luna's lip curled up in a snarl. Groph now finally knew of Luna's existence. Her tail whipped back and forth in anger. This was not good at all. Her ears perked up at the sound of a teleporter being activated. Had they gone back in time already? Good then she had time. Concentrating she turned into her human illusion, it felt odd using it after so long. She ran up the stairs and headed into Samantha's room to Eliana. She sat down by Eliana's side and brushed strands of hair away from her forehead. "Mmm. No." Eliana muttered out loud. Luna shushed her and tucked her in more. Eliana mumbled even louder. "Mmm. Was?" Luna brushed Eliana's hair back more. She was muttering even louder now. Luna could only make out one word before she heard the men come back. Rushing out of the room she jumped off the bridge; in midair she turned back into her true form.   
Richtofen was the first to make it to the top of the stairs. He noticed an odd glow around Luna. It only lasted for a split second however. Dempsey pushed past Richtofen and headed up the stairs towards the room to visit Eliana. Damn. He hoped Dempsey would not notice her state of undress. Walking up to Luna he patted her front leg, her muscles quivered. "She will be fine. I promise." Luna snorted loudly and kept her eyes trained towards the horizon. The sun was starting to set already. "I know she will be fine. I just hope it will be sooner rather than later." With that she walked off, her tail dragging behind her in the snow. Richtofen sighed and looked up. He prayed to whoever was up there that Eliana would be ok. And that they would secure Dempsey soon.


	11. Healing Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliana is on the road to recovery and happy to be back. The Crew is one step closer to getting Ultimis Dempsey's soul. Richtofen struggles with his emotions as always and Luna takes the Crew on a short night flight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this? Two Chapters in one day? I decided to send out both Chapters as Chapter Ten will be lengthy and mainly be around the Boss Battle. Whislt I work on Chapter Ten one of my Co Writers (Gamers Legion) is currently working on the Zetsubou No Shima Chapters.

It had been six days since Eliana had first had her symptoms. Richtofen had been taking care of her. Making sure she ate and helping her out of bed. Dempsey, Takeo, Luna and even Nikolai were babying her. Much to her displeasure. Sitting by the campfire Eliana was wrapped up in the blanket. Dempsey had his arms around her making sure she was warm. Luna was behind them chewing on the femur of a buck, the sound of it snapping made Eliana jump. Dempsey laid his chin on her head and hummed. Richtofen was busy looking through the journal that Eliana had given him. In the journal was a strategy on how to defeat the boss; whilst Eliana rested the men had already completed everything. The other Dempsey was secure in his pod right outside the Church. The sound of it coming back down to Earth had woke Eliana up; the sonic boom that followed shook the entire castle. Her fever had since gone down and she no longer had fever dreams. Richtofen at one point slept near her in case she had a night terror. And even some nights Takeo would stand outside her room and guard her while the others rushed to finish the steps. When the men were busy Luna had used her human illusion to check in on her Mother; she was now glad that Eliana was able to walk around. 

Nikolai and Takeo came back with breakfast. They were going to dine on rabbit and pheasant this morning. Eliana's stomach growled at the thought of eating pheasant, out of all the animals they had hunted she had to admit that pheasant was her favorite by far. They sat down by the fire and prepared the meat. Richtofen sighed and closed the journal, he stood up and walked over to Eliana's bag. She had allowed him and only him to access the contents in her bag. Some of the items in it were common. Such as a toothbrush, hairbrush, clothes and even feminine products. But certain items had caught his eye. When he first went through her bag she had been passed out from exhaustion. He promised himself he would not pry but you know the saying; curiosity killed the cat. He came upon a small rectangular shape that had a silver back to it. He had clicked the button on the back and a picture of Luna appeared on the screen. The other item was a black box, confusion was written on his face. Flipping the box over he got his answer, a blush spread over his cheeks. Eliana had brought a box of condoms with her! Did she think she would meet a potential lover? Or did she think she would have a one night stand. Then finally the thing that confused him the most was a small purple and white device. There was a tiny switch on the side of it, when he turned it on it vibrated violently in his hand. His face became even more red as he turned it off and placed it back in her bag. Dear lord she even bought a vibrator with her! Shaking his head clear he brought himself back to the present. He opened her bag and put the journal carefully on top of her clothes. Turning on his heels he cleared his throat to get Eliana's attention. She looked up at him with tired eyes. "You need some fresh air. It will be good for you. A walk around the castle would be best." Eliana's eyes seemed to brighten up as she stood on shaky legs. Dempsey helped her up gently. He made sure the blanket didn't fall from her body. "Should she really be in the cold right now Doc?" Dempsey's voice was filled with concern. Nikolai spoke up quickly. "She has a blanket and warm clothes on. I am sure if she gets cold she will let Richtofen know." Eliana looked at Nikolai and nodded. "I'll be fine Dempsey. I promise. Richtofen will keep a close eye on me." The marine pouted, crossing his arms he sat back down by Luna's belly. Eliana rolled her eyes before making her way over to Richtofen. She motioned for him to lead the way.

Walking past the cryo pod that contained Dempsey always made Eliana shiver. She knew what was to come after the boss fight and after they blew up the moon. Richtofen stayed by her side, his hand was barely touching her lower back to keep her steady. He noticed that she had been limping as of late. They walked past the Trophy Room and headed down the tunnel towards the gondola. Richtofen hummed softly. He remembered it like it was yesterday. He had taken Eliana to the Trophy Room to examine the Kronorium more closely. Her eyes seemed to brighten in wonder and amazement when he opened the book. When they skimmed through it he noticed that she always stood so close to him. He could feel her body heat from their closeness. He cherished those nights. They would study the Kronorium almost all night, on more than one occasion they had both fallen asleep nestled close to one another in the chair. Bringing himself back to the present he watched as Eliana leaned on the railing that overlooked the village. Right now it seemed as if she didn't mind the cold that much. Walking up he stopped right behind her and stared out towards the village as well. His eyes landed on the giant robot that was now lying uselessly on the edge of one of the mountains, he huffed out. "You know. I now realized something." He muttered. Eliana didn't bother looking back at him and instead hummed thoughtfully. "What?" He hands gripped the railing a bit tighter now. "Without the robot we cannot get to our next destination...I had planned for Maxis to open up a portal but the robot was a backup plan." Eliana's fingers tapped the railing softly. He now noticed she was starting to shiver a bit. "Well. Luna can carry all of us. She can fly pretty fast you know." Richtofen shuffled a bit awkwardly. He didn't want to admit his fears to Eliana. How he was afraid that Luna might let him fall off her back. "Would she let us on her back is the question." He moved closer to her; she unconsciously scooted closer to him for his body warmth. "She won't mind. So long as you listen to her instructions as well as mine. Hell. We could go for a test drive tonight. If you want to?" She finally looked up at him. The sunlight made her dark brown eyes seem like honey. He licked his lips before replying. "That would be nice." He couldn't understand why his heart was racing. Was it because they would be up in the air together? He would be sitting rather close to her wouldn't he? He had noticed how Dempsey would sit right behind Eliana, his arms were always wrapped around her waist. It made Richtofen scowl thinking about it. "Yes it would. Let me let the others know. Tonight will be the test drive. It will be fun." She smiled up at him. Richtofen had to suppress a mournful sigh. He wanted to spend some more one on one time with Eliana. He still couldn't understand why this woman was affecting him this way. But he intended to find out.

They had made it safely back to the Church. The zombies lately seemed to have been more lax. Most of them were slow and only a few had been runners. When Eliana told the others of her idea for the night flight they all seemed hesitant. Except for Dempsey of course who had flown on Luna a couple of times already, twice he flew on her alone; which shocked Eliana when she found out. "Will it be safe? How do we know she will not throw us off?" That was Nikolai who asked the questions. Luna just snorted loudly. "If I wanted to kill you Russian I would have done so already. You and the others pose no threat to me or mein Mutter. Therefore I have no reason to harm any of you." Takeo had shuffled in place and looked at Luna's large wings. Eliana could tell he was still nervous about heights. "You guys don't have to go if you have doubts. I was only offering. Besides you might have to get used to it. What if we need to go somewhere quickly? And Luna is our only way to get there?" Dempsey was not listening and instead was already preparing for the night flight. He now was always giddy whenever he climbed onto Luna's back. Being up high without a care in the world felt nice for a change. Dempsey noticed Richtofen was looking at Luna's wings in interest. The man grabbed the wing membrane gently and rubbed it softly. Luna's body twitched, she kept her eyes focused on the workbench ahead of her. Why did Luna tense up whenever Richtofen touched her? Was it due to his boldness? The marine shook his head. It couldn't be. He had been bold too and it seemed like Luna had already warmed up to him. Maybe Luna knew he was a bad person. Animals could sense a bad person right? Luna stood forcing both Dempsey and Richtofen to step away. She made her way outside, she turned and huffed out a puff of smoke from her nostrils. "For those who wish to fly tonight. I will be by the broken down bridge. Near Double Tap. I can no longer use the truck here to launch myself up." Without waiting to see who would follow her she made her way towards the clock tower, she was forced to climb up it and push herself off into the air. Eliana was already giddy and bouncing up and down from excitement. "So. Who wants to go flying?" 

They all met up near the Double Tap machine. Luna was shocked to see they were all there. Would some of them sit and watch? "Alright. So Luna. They all want to take a spin. Can you fit everyone on your back?" Luna looked at the men with a sigh. "Ja. I can fit everyone. I don't know how fast I will be able to go though. But I am guessing I should go slow anyway." Laying down she allowed Eliana to climb up on her first, holding onto the spike in front of her she turned to face the men. "So here how it will work. You will need to hold onto each other. So choose who you will sit behind wisely." Richtofen was the first one to scramble up onto Luna. Dempsey glared at him. He still didn't like him being close to Eliana. Takeo went next followed by Nikolai, Dempsey was the last one to climb up. Luna stood up slowly, three of the passengers were not prepared for her to stand; Eliana and Dempsey however were. "Alright guys. Remember do not lean back. Especially when Luna dives down. You could easily lose your grip and fly off. Also try not to dig your legs too tightly to her sides. Her scales can and have rubbed skin off." Nikolai looked down at the ground with worry. Dempsey could tell that the Russian was rethinking this. Luna walked towards the gate that would lead into the other smaller courtyard. She turned back to face the crumbling part of the outerwall. "Hold on tight. Usually when she takes off she flies fast to gain altitude." Takeo had gripped onto Richtofen's shoulders tightly whilst Nikolai held Takeo's arms in a much softer grip. Dempsey was content with placing one hand on Nikolai's shoulder. He was confident enough or so he hoped. He leaned to the right to peek at Richtofen and Eliana up front. He noticed that the German had his arms wrapped tightly around Eliana's waist. He didn't have time to comment. Luna took off running towards the wall; the others were nervous as hell. Their eyes were wide with fear. Luna used her hind right paw to launch herself off the wall and out into the open air. 

Luna opened her wings quickly, she needed to fly up a bit higher in case there were enemies in the village down below. She could feel the three new riders hanging on tightly with their legs. They would most likely get some nice bruises on their legs. Luna flew straight up forcing them all to hang onto one another more tightly, even Dempsey had clung onto Nikolai. Bursting through the clouds she looked up at the full moon, raising her paw up she acted as if she wanted to grab it before free falling backwards. Someone screamed as she did so. Luna could not hold back a chuckle. Falling back under the clouds she steadied herself to a glide, she aimed herself towards the area where the robot laid. "See guys! It isn't so bad!" Takeo groaned loudly before gagging. "If you are going to vomit let me know! So I can land!" Luna yelled out over the sound of the wind. Richtofen had a tight grip around Eliana's waist, he tried to imagine it was just them flying through the night sky. But the feeling of Takeo's hands on his shoulders and hearing Nikolai's comments did not help. He leaned forward so his chin rested on Eliana's shoulder, she jumped a bit in surprise. "How fast can Luna fly?" He asked. Now mind you he did not want her to fly fast right at the moment but he was curious. "She can fly up to two hundred miles per hour. When dive bombing her speed obviously goes up. She has only been able to perform a sonic boom once, but she was much younger." Richtofen was grateful that Luna was not flying her top speed then; he didn't think he could handle that any time soon. He closed his eyes, the smell of Eliana's perfume kept him calm. His brows furrowed. He still couldn't figure out why she was bringing out these feelings in him. Why her? Why now? His eyes opened in time to watch as Luna dived down towards the Castle. The flight was nice and calming. He guessed Luna kept it that way after Takeo started gagging. She landed in the Church courtyard, instead of letting them get off she walked into the Church. When she got to their little camp is when she laid down. Everyone slid off of her and stumbled to the fire, Richtofen helped Eliana down. "You guys did good for your first flight. Takeo you doing ok?" She looked at the samurai who had taken a seat close to the fire place. His only response was a nod. Eliana sat down by Luna's neck, Richtofen sat down next to her. "Eliana. Are you well enough to help us tomorrow? Richtofen did mention that this corrupted Keeper would be powerful." Eliana was shocked to hear Nikolai ask her this. After all he was the only one in the group who still had his doubts about both her and Luna. "Yes. I feel fine. If anything I will stay close to one of you guys. Hell we should do that anyway. It would be the better option." Luna shifted a bit awkwardly on the cold stone floor, she wished she could help them out during the battle; but she did not want them to see her Human Illusion just yet. It wasn't the right time. "You can stay by me. I'll protect ya." Dempsey spoke up. Eliana smiled, she leaned back on Luna. "Thanks Tank. I appreciate it." Richtofen seemed to tense up a bit at the thought of Dempsey near Eliana. He really needed to get his emotions in check.

They all ate leftovers and laughed throughout the night. Finally one by one they started to get more exhausted. Eliana perked up with an idea. "Why don't we all sleep by Luna for the night? Her warmth will help us relax a bit more. Also you guys should be ok with touching her now right?" Nikolai and Takeo looked at one another before directing their attention back at Eliana. "Her scales still feel a bit odd to the touch. But I will not turn down on offer to be warm." Takeo answered as he moved closer to Luna. He held his hand out and let Luna come to him. Dempsey cuddled close to Luna's stomach, whilst Nikolai stayed close to her hind leg; Takeo had taken a spot right near Luna's front leg. Richtofen and Eliana stayed close to Luna's neck and face. The others started to fall asleep one by one, Richtofen was the only one who stayed awake. He glanced down at Eliana, he noticed she was curled up tightly to maintain warmth. His heart raced as a thought raced through his mind. He still needed to figure out why she was having this affect on him. Yet he felt as if he wouldn't get a straight answer anytime soon. With a soft sigh he curled up next to her, he froze when she turned to face him. Her face looked so peaceful when she slept. He finally closed his eyes, allowing his body to rest. After all, tomorrow would be a challenge. And he just hoped that they would all live through it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that Chapter guys ^^ Make sure to stay safe out there. Also if any of you are interested in joining the Nazi Zombies Discord Server then comment down below. I shall send you an invite.
> 
> On the Server we talk about all things Nazi Zombies and we even have channels for other games as well.


	12. Corruptions and Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They venture forth to fight the Corrupted Keeper. Eliana gets injured and Luna goes rage mode. Feelings are made known and tensions rise in the group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a while. Hope you are all doing ok in this crazy ass world rn.  
> Chapter Warnings!  
> Blood and slight gore  
> PTSD Episode
> 
> Also! The lovely artwork was done by MindOfBrooke on DeviantArt! Go check her work out!

Waking up was difficult for Richtofen. The warmth that radiated from both Luna and Eliana made him groggy. He nuzzled close up to Eliana, listening to her breathing he hummed softly. He needed to force himself to get up quickly. Before the others woke up. Opening his eyes slowly he looked around. Good, the others were still asleep. Now that he was awake he noticed how close Eliana was to him. Her face was snuggled up in his chest, and her hands were holding his vest. A light blush covered his cheeks. His heart raced in his chest. Eliana moved away from his chest to let out a yawn. Her hair was in tangles from the way she had been sleeping. He didn't dare to move. What should he say? What could he say? Eliana finally turned to look at him. She noticed the position they were in and blushed. He cleared his throat. "Guten morgen...How did you sleep?" She made no move to get away from him. This was good right? Right? She looked back to Luna. "I slept fine. And you?" Her voice sounded meek. Richtofen shifted a bit in place. "I slept ok. I had a wonderful dream." Eliana tilted her head. "Oh? What about?" He rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't want to tell her the dream involved her and him together. Thankfully he didn't have to. Nikolai woke up. He stood up and stretched. Eliana slowly crawled off of Richtofen, sitting down in front of him she placed her hands in her lap. "I should go and shower. Shout for me if anything happens." She stood and went to grab her bag. Richtofen crawled up on Luna and watched Eliana go up the stairs. He shook his head before sliding down to the floor. Should he tell Eliana his feelings? Would she reject him? It seems as if she liked Dempsey more. He avoided the thought for now. Right now he needed to prepare the team for a battle.

Eliana had finished up her shower about five minutes ago. Yet she couldn't bring herself to leave the washroom just yet. Her thoughts had been racing for days. She and Richtofen had been getting closer and closer. When she was healing he would be the first one to make sure she was alright. He brought her food, tucked her in, stood guard, he would sometimes even hold her when she had night terrors. Gripping the edges of the sink she growled. Fucking Monty had been the reason why she got sick. The damned Keeper kept ruining her dreams. He knew where she came from; how she was from the quote on quote real world. He had berated her in coming here. As if she were a child. Looking up in the mirror she took a deep breath. She needed to calm down. Her mind brought her back to thoughts of Richtofen once more. His eyes, his voice and his warmth made Eliana smile. Being near him made her heart race. He had always been her favorite character so it only made sense that her heart raced whenever she was near him. It seemed like he felt the same as well. Everytime he was near her his face would have a slight blush. And his heart would beat rapidly in his chest. Maybe he felt the same way? Maybe she should get him alone and have a talk with him. It would have to wait after the boss fight. Brushing out her hair she thought of what they needed to do. Dealing with the Panzer's would be an out right bitch. And the Corrupted Keeper would be even worse. If only Luna could help them out. With Luna's help it would be a lot easier on everyone. But Eliana knew they couldn't always rely on Luna to help them out. She finally was ready to face the boss. She prayed to her Gods and Goddesses that they would all come out ok.

They all were at the MPD by now. Eliana had given Luna a hug and a kiss on her snout. Dempsey had promised Luna that he would protect Eliana. She had taken her place by Dempsey. Her KRM shook in her hands. Dempsey had also given her an HVK-30. She was truly fucked. Sadly she could not obtain any Ragnaroks as there were only four available, Richtofen offered his but she denied. "You will need them more than me. Believe me." She had told him. They activated the Ragnaroks; placing them down on the pressure plates Eliana prepared herself. The feeling of being teleported made Eliana's stomach flip. Opening her eyes she looked towards the middle of the room. There the Keeper floated, his back was turned to them. The creature turned to face them and let out a shriek. Eliana clutched her KRM tighter. This was it. It was now or never. They needed to kill this thing. And they needed to do so quickly.

Richtofen looked up at the Keeper with wide eyes. Eliana was not wrong when she said the Keeper would be huge. "Everyone try to stay behind a pillar! And when that thing starts to glow white one of you needs to place the Ragnaroks underneath it! Aim for it's chest when it glows white!" Skeletons started to tear themselves up from the ground. Everyone started firing at them whilst staying behind a pillar. Dempsey kept close to Eliana, he had her pressed close to the pillar; she still got a few kills here and there with her KRM. Richtofen noticed the Keeper was now charging up an attack, Nikolai ran out and placed his Ragnarok's down underneath the Keeper. He slid back behind a pillar clutching his Dire Wolf tight. Richtofen watched as the Keeper got injured from the Ragnaroks forcing it to stop it's attack. Richtofen, Nikolai and Takeo aimed for the center of the Keeper. They unloaded an entire clip into it's chest. It roared out in pain before seemingly vanishing into thin air. More skeletons poured around them. Richtofen was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed from the chaos. "That was just wave one! We got this guys!" Eliana's voice shouted over the sounds of bullets. Two Panzer Soldat's came floating down from the air. Dempsey and Eliana were heading closer to Nikolai to assist him with the Skeleton horde. Meanwhile Richtofen had to help Takeo with the two Panzer's. The Keeper had kept creating areas that caught on fire as if the area itself was shot with the Fire Bow. Richtofen hissed in pain as some of the fire hit his exposed arm. That would most likely leave a mark. He turned in time to see the Keeper finally going back towards the middle to charge up another attack. Takeo noticed this and ran up to the middle, he grabbed Nikolai's Ragnarok's before placing his down; he ran out of the way just in time for it to sit on the Ragnaroks again. This time it was facing Dempsey and Eliana who unloaded their entire clips into it. It roared at them before disappearing into thin air. "Last wave guys!" Eliana shouted. Dempsey let out a triumphant cry. They were so close. The sounds of more Panzer's spawning in had them all frantically running around, at one point Eliana had separated from Dempsey. Richtofen prayed that she could hold off on her own. He kept thinning out the army of Skeletons coming close to him as he attempted to get close to Eliana. The Keeper had returned with a vengeance. The damned thing kept teleporting around whilst leaving craters of fire everywhere. Takeo was the first to notice the Keeper had gone back to the middle to charge up. But by then it was too late to place the charged Ragnarok's underneath it. This thing was going to launch an attack! "Behind the pillars! Und quick!" Richtofen screamed out. He got behind the nearest pillar with Takeo. Dempsey had to sprint to get to one. Nikolai and Eliana struggled to get to cover. The Keeper went to unleash the attack. "No!" Eliana shouted before pushing Nikolai to safety. Electricity exploded out everywhere, shocking the Skeletons that were not hidden as well as the remaining Panzer Soldats. Eliana flew through the air before hitting the back wall hard. She was immediately knocked unconscious when her back collided with it. "Eliana!" Dempsey shouted out. Richtofen was quicker however and bolted over to her body. He slid on his knees to get to her. Dempsey provided cover fire as Takeo and Nikolai distracted the Keeper. Richtofen lifted her body up into his lap; some blood trickled from her mouth. He could feel his heart breaking at the sight before him. This was his fault! He should have waited longer to engage in a fight with the Keeper. He wiped the blood from her mouth gently, tears were forming at the corners of his eyes. She was dead and it was his fault.

Luna's head shot up quickly. Her back felt as if it was on fire from pain. Rolling her tongue in her mouth she tasted iron. Something was terribly wrong. She tried to contact Eliana via telepathy but got no response. Instead she felt another shock wave of pain erupt through her. Eliana was hurt! Her mother was knocking at death's door! Without a second thought Luna used her Human Illusion, she practically flew down the stairs and rushed towards the MPD. As much as she despised the damned thing she needed to get to her mother. Her first thought was to claw at the pyramid in hopes the Keeper inside would get hurt. But instead she came up with a better plan, one that would be risky but would be worth it if it meant saving Eliana. Standing on one of the pressure plates she concentrated all of the Element 115 in her veins. The feeling of her being teleported forcefully made her clench her teeth. She closed her eyes as the pain rushed through her body. Her stomach flipped when she finally landed inside the MPD. Opening her eyes she noticed now that she was crouching on the floor, the warmth from it did not bother her at all. Looking up she saw both Takeo and Nikolai fending off the Keeper, behind them she noticed Dempsey killing off the Skeletons that were trying to get past him. Behind him was Richtofen who held Eliana close to him, he looked as if he was crying. Luna's teeth clenched even tighter; her canines grew longer at seeing Eliana in so much pain. She was alive but was having a hard time staying so. Luna let out a roar so loud and deafening that her throat bled from the force of it. The men all turned to look at the source of the sound and were shocked to see another woman standing there. Luna would have to explain herself later, right now she had a Keeper to take down. She ran at the monster full force, the stupid creature had foolishly turned to face her; it's neck was exposed. Transforming into her true form she lunged right at where it's jugular would be had it been a human. Latching on tightly she thrashed her head around; dark blood squirted out from its neck. Roaring in anguish it tried to pry Luna off with its hands, but Nikolai had shot its hands making them limp and useless. With a final tug Luna had ripped a hefty chunk of flesh from it's neck. Blood poured out from the wound and covered her face and a majority of her scales. The Keeper fell backwards barely missing Nikolai who had stepped closer to help Luna out. The Dragoness kept her head down and breathed heavily. Blood dripped off her canines, the taste of it coated her tongue and her throat. She finally looked up to meet the eyes of all of the men. But before she could answer them they had been ejected from the MPD. Luna knew that after this she would have more explaining to do.

When they were ejected from the MPD Richtofen had kept a tight hold onto Eliana. He could feel her heartbeat faintly when he placed his hand on her chest. Seeing what appeared to be a human version of Luna had shocked the entire crew. They were more than happy though to see Luna ripping the throat out of the Keeper. The Dragoness had displayed such ferocity that Richtofen knew had come from her instincts to protect her mother. He shuddered as he remembered Luna looking up at them, blood dripping freely from her fangs. Some of the blood seemed to drop in thick puddles. When they all finally came to it they looked at one another. Luna was in her human illusion once more, she was covered in the blood of the Keeper. Richtofen shook in fear as he looked into her eyes. They were still draconic in nature, her pupils were now slits. She walked over to him; bending down she brushed Eliana's hair away from her forehead. "She is alive. But she will need intensive care." Richtofen noticed that Luna still had that slight growl in her throat whenever she spoke. The sound of the intercom going off made the entire crew tense up. **"It is now beyond doubt that your actions pose a threat to Group 935! Your treachery leaves me no option but to take steps to your termination! Even if it means the destruction of the Castle itself!"** Groph had sounded almost out of breath. He still probably was shaken up when the Keeper first came to take away the MPD. The Summoning Key was sparking now with energy as well as Element 115. Luna turned to look at Richtofen. "I will grab the key. Just bring Eliana to Samantha's room. Und do so quickly." She used his shoulder to push herself off the ground. Grabbing the Summoning Key she motioned for the other three men to follow. Dempsey stopped at the edge of the stairs to turn and look at Richtofen. Their eyes met for a split second. "Dempsey!" Luna's voice called from up the stairs. "Yeah! I'm coming! Don't get your scales ruffled!" He shouted back as he ran up the stairs. Richtofen lifted Eliana up carefully. Her head rolled limply to the side, he felt numb all over. He rushed up the stairs as fast as he could; he took the stairs that were in the Church towards the rooms. When he reached Samantha's room he placed Eliana on the bed gently. Tucking her in he brushed her hair out of her face. His hand remained on her cheek. He prayed to whoever was up there to help heal her. With regret he turned to walk back the way he came. They were so close to securing Dempsey's soul. He couldn't stop now.

Luna had taken them up to the control panel. The Summoning Key in her hand hummed with raw energy. They didn't have to wait long for Richtofen to make his way back. His eyes held a somber look to them. Luna knew he blamed himself for Eliana getting hurt. But now was not the time for him to wallow in self pity. They had the moon to destroy. Group 935 would pay for the crimes they had done. She looked at Richtofen waiting for his approval, he nodded towards the control panel. Smirking she placed the Summoning Key on it, the energy helped power the rockets that would lead up to the moon. The intercom had trouble turning on but when it did Luna had to hold back a growl. **"Launch protocol initiated."** Groph sounded terrified now, as he should. Luna looked towards the moon with a smirk. She hoped the bastard up there suffered greatly when the rockets hit. She prayed to her Goddess that he would feel incredible pain. The rockets seemed to be tiny dots now in the sky, when they finally vanished is when the intercom started to static up once more; Luna was going to enjoy this. **"We're reading multiple rocket launches! What have you done!?"** Groph now sounded a lot more panicked, he knew that he was truly fucked. He could not escape the rockets in time. **"Thirty seconds to impact."** Luna's tail came out from her Human Illusion and swished on the ground impatiently. Dempsey stood next to her, he placed a hand on her shoulder to try to ease her nerves; it did not help at all. **"You are a fool Richtofen! Even with the destruction of this facility and my own death will prevent the advancement of our cause! You'll stop nothing!"** Those were his last words as the rockets made contact with the moon. Bits and pieces of the moon now were scattered across the sky. Luna smirked in triumph. At least in this Dimension she made Group 935 suffer for what they did. Turning to the others she licked the blood still on her lips. "Now gentlemen. I believe we have someone to awaken."

Richtofen led the group down the stairs. It still felt odd knowing Luna had a secret human form. He would need to ask Eliana about it later. Oh Eliana. Poor Eliana. His heart clenched tightly at the thought. She was still knocked out in Samantha's bedroom. When he was watching the rockets go off all he could think about was her. Shaking his head clear he focused himself on the task at hand, he needed to get to the other Dempsey first. He stared at the pod and let out a sigh of relief. "He is still alive." Richtofen said in relief. "I fucking hope so." Dempsey's voice sounded close. A little too close for comfort. Richtofen turned quickly and pulled out the Summoning Key, he used its powers to force them to stay in place; they levitated above the ground a few inches. Luna uttered a deep growl. "This test subject will one day wreck havoc across the entire Universe. He cannot be allowed to live." Richtofen spoke firmly. Dempsey twisted around with a grunt of anger. "This wasn't how it was supposed to go! We were supposed to secure the package! And be in and out clean!" The marine still struggled to break free. His fists were now clenched in fury. Richtofen turned around, he started to walk back towards the pod containing the other Dempsey. "Instead it's been one whole disaster another! I should have never trusted you Richtofen! Never!" Luna could smell his anger and betrayal from where she was. More than anything she wished to rip Richtofen's neck open. Richtofen finally stood in front of the pod, his eyes were kept on the Summoning Key. "You should trust me Dempsey. You all should." He held up the Summoning Key a bit higher. "This artifact has the power to contain and preserve the subject's soul. Your soul! But it can only be done after the moment of death." Luna kept her eyes trained on Richtofen. She knew Dempsey would be the one to kill his other self. She had a plan in mind once Richtofen had set them down. "Just as you saw me do to my other self." He finally turned to face Dempsey. "It is the only way." Richtofen turned and went to shut off the life support until Dempsey spoke up. "Wait!" Richtofen's hand flinched back away from the panel and turned to face Dempsey. "If someone's gotta take him out to save the Universe. Then it should be me that does it." Dempsey now held his head high with fierce determination. Richtofen hesitated but finally released them all from the grasp of the Summoning Key. Dempsey walked up to the pod, Richtofen had backed up a bit to give him space. He placed his hand on the glass and sighed. "Good to see ya Tank." As he spoke his voice tightened up. He looked away as he turned off the life support. The heart monitor flat lined. Richtofen went back up and lightly tapped Dempsey's shoulder in a form of comfort. The marine walked away with his head down. Richtofen allowed the Summoning Key to absorb the other Dempsey's soul. After he put the Key away is when Luna made her move. She rushed at him with her teeth bared. He did not have time to flee. She gripped his throat with her still bloody hand. Her pupils were slits and her eyes had a blue tint to them. "If you ever use that fucking artifact on me again. I swear by all the Gods I shall rip you in half und leave you to rot. Do I make myself clear?" She hissed out. Some blood still dripped down from her canines and onto the snow. Richtofen could only nod in response. She let go of him, he went to rub his throat. Luna turned and purposely smacked him with her tail; she went off after Dempsey. Nikolai and Takeo glanced at the German before looking at one another. They headed towards the Trophy Room leaving Richtofen alone. He straightened himself up. Letting out a sigh of relief he headed back into the Church to grab Eliana's bag. He hoped she would recover. And he hoped she would be happy to see him.

Eliana had woken up slowly from her slumber. She had a hard time remembering what happened until she tried to sit up. She cried out in pain and laid back down immediately afterwards. That's right. Now the memories came flooding back. She had pushed Nikolai out of the way and took the hit. Who had put her in the bed? Did they win? Where was Luna? Eliana desperately wanted to get up to find the others but her body pains forced her to stay down. The sound of footsteps made her tense up. Richtofen appeared in the doorway with her bag over his shoulder, his gaze was still fixed on the floor. "Edward?" Eliana was confused as to why he looked so distraught. Richtofen's head perked up as he heard his name being called. His heart raced. She called him by his first name. And she was awake. He placed her bag down by the bed before walking over to her. Sitting on the bed he leaned over to hug her. She grunted but hugged him back. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck. His hand went to tangle itself in her hair. "I thought I lost you. When you hit the wall I thought you had died." He sounded as if he was on the brink of crying. Eliana kept on hugging him tightly. "I am fine. I promise. I won't die that easily." She tried to lighten the mood. He finally pulled away just a bit so he could look at her face. His hand went down towards her back. "There is something I wish to discuss with you. Something I wanted to say before the fight." Eliana tilted her head in confusion. He seemed to be avoiding her gaze now. "Well. You now have my full attention." He cleared his throat before speaking. "I cherish the time we spend together. When you first arrived I admit I was hesitant about you and Luna. But over the last couple of days I have come to trust the both of you." His hands now held hers. She felt so cold compared to him. "When it was just us alone I always felt my heart racing in my chest. Every time I saw you with Dempsey I would become jealous. But when you were with me I felt the urge to protect you. To make you feel happy. To see that beautiful smile of yours." Eliana's eyes were now wide. Her heart thumped in her chest hard. "All those nights when we were alone just made these feelings grow inside me. And then tonight when that damned thing hurt you. My heart broke. I thought I had lost you forever. I felt as if a piece of me had left this Universe." His thumb rubbed the back of her hand. Eliana held Richtofen's hand tightly. Her eyes met his. "Edward. What are you trying to say?" Her voice sounded softer. He didn't answer with words. Instead he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Eliana's eyes widened at first but slowly closed. His hand came up to hold the back of her head. From that moment on they knew things would never be the same. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAg4hlNBB5N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

That night Richtofen slept next to Eliana. He refused to leave her side. After he had kissed her he felt his worries melt away. His heart had been racing when his lips made contact with hers. He feared she would pull away. But instead was happy to feel her kissing him back. His body felt warm on the inside. Is this what happiness felt like? When he pulled away he noticed a faint blush on her cheeks. Of course he most likely looked the same. Her eyes were slowly starting to close again. She was still exhausted. "Don't leave." She begged him. He smiled at her, helping her lay back down he scooted himself up onto the bed to lay beside her. "I will never leave your side again. I promise." He nuzzled his face into her neck. She let out a soft hum before finally falling asleep once more. He had no nightmares that night. Instead his head was filled with pleasant dreams about him and Eliana. Far away from this madness. Safe and content in each other's arms. Voices had made him stir from his deep sleep. "You have got to be kidding me." The voice was coming from Maxis' old room. It sounded like Dempsey's. Richtofen felt hands on his arm and the feeling of being shook. He shot up from the bed quickly, his arms clenched Eliana protectively. "Ja? What is it?" His voice was raspy. "Breakfast is ready...Also I don't think Eliana would like the fact that you are cuddling with her." His voice was filled with malice. Richtofen let go of Eliana, she grumbled before scooting close to him. "She asked me to stay close to her. She was awake earlier. It seems as if she can still move." Dempsey's brows went up when Eliana nuzzled back towards Richtofen. Maybe in her sleep she didn't know it was him. "Well Luna was really worried about her. She needs to know that her Mother is safe." Richtofen went to reply but turned to look outside when they heard strong wing beats. They watched as Luna turned into her human illusion mid air, she landed right outside the door. She walked in with her shoulders back and head held high. "There is no need to inform me of her state of health. Thank you though for the concern." Her hands were behind her back. She looked down at Eliana with a soft smile. "You both seem to forget her and I have a special bond beyond anything you can imagine. Her pain is my pain. Und my pain is her pain. We sometimes will share thoughts as well." Luna sat down on the other side, she ran her hand through Eliana's hair. "Why don't you go und eat Richtofen. I will stay with her. I can try to take some of her pain away." Richtofen at first was hesitant to go; but seeing the look in Luna's eyes pushed him to leave. He did not want to get in the way of a daughter and her mother. He waited until Luna moved her hand, he bent down and quickly kissed Eliana's forehead. Dempsey let out a soft growl as Richtofen stood up. "Lead the way American." 

When both men left the room Luna let out a sigh of relief. Thank the Goddess up above. They were both annoying. Luna hummed a lullaby as she ran her fingers through Eliana's hair. When she came across a tangle she would stop and gently untangle it before continuing to brush her hair. Not only could she smell Eliana's scent but she also smelled Richtofen's as well. Luna was upset that Eliana was close with Richtofen. Closer now than before. Luna of course knew about the kiss. Eliana did not hide that part in their shared mind. Luna gagged in disgust when it happened. Dempsey looked at her in confusion when she had done so. Speaking of Dempsey. The poor marine was still very shaken up over the fact he had to put his other self down. She could only offer him comforting words as well as a hug. He had refused to cry in front of the others but openly did so in front of Luna. He didn't seem to care that she was still caked in the blood of the Keeper. It hurt her knowing that Dempsey would not be the only one that would suffer this fate. Takeo had to secure his soul next. After she had comforted Dempsey she went to take a nice long shower. The feeling of the blood washing away from her body felt great. She cleaned out her teeth as well. She really acted out on instincts back there. But now the men knew how far she would go to protect her mother. They needed to both respect and fear her. Eliana moving around brought Luna back to the present. Her body seemed so stiff from the way she was sleeping. Luna hummed softly and took away some of Eliana's pain. Luna didn't mind a bit of soreness, after all she had endured worse. The smell of venison hit her nose, she sniffed the air and turned to the source. It was Nikolai. He was carrying two bowls of venison stew. "I brought this up. She will most likely be hungry after what happened." Luna nodded in gratitude and took her soup bowl. She started to slurp it down quickly. A dragon's stomach was never full. Nikolai observed both of the women, his eyes were focused on Eliana. "I must thank her when she wakes up. She risked her life for mine." Out of the entire crew Nikolai was still skeptical about the two women. Even more so when he saw that Eliana had been the one to plant the papers with instructions on how to craft the bows. Luna went to respond but groaned in pain. Nikolai looked confused at first as he watched her double over. He placed the other bowl down on the dresser and rushed to Luna's side. "Eliana! She is in pain! She-" Luna let out a growl as she felt a sting shoot through her body. Nikolai's eyes were wide. "I'll get Richtofen." He rushed out of the room heading towards the Church. He just hoped Richtofen could help.

The three were sitting by the fire in an awkward silence. Dempsey was pissed off for a number of reasons. One; Richtofen had lied about securing the test subject, the other him. And two; he took Eliana away from him. Dempsey's hands clenched his bowl tightly. No. Eliana had a mind of her own. She must have chosen Richtofen as well. Unless he lied about her wanting him to stay. The sound of footsteps rushing over to the balcony made them look up. Nikolai clutched the railing tightly. "Richtofen! Luna is hurt! She says it has something to do with Eliana!" Hearing Eliana's name the German stood quickly and rushed up the stairs. Not bothering to see if anyone had followed him up. Dempsey's eyes were wide with panic. Should he go up and check? He wasn't a doctor by any means but if Eliana was in pain he wanted to be there to help. "Tak keep the fire going. I'm going to see if he needs help." The only reply he got was a hum as he bolted past Nikolai. When he entered the room he had to hold back a gasp. Luna was on the floor twitching in agony. Her eyes were now tinged blue; a blue tint also came from her throat. Eliana was on the bed crying out in pain. Richtofen was trying to lift Luna up carefully. Dempsey rushed to his side and helped him lift Luna up. They placed her on the bed next to Eliana who was now crying out even louder. "What the hell is happening to them!?" Richtofen stood still not answering. His eyes were wide in fear as he stared at Luna who seemed to be worse. "Eliana mentioned that her and Luna share a connection. Maybe Luna took on more pain than she could deal with." Luna's legs kicked out violently forcing Dempsey to hold her down. "Well what the fuck do we do then?" He kept his hands firmly on Luna's thighs, ignoring the pain of her kicking him. Richtofen sat by Eliana's head and gently lifted her head up into his lap. "Wake up Eliana. Bitte. Luna needs you." She calmed down as soon as she felt his hands on her face. Opening her eyes slowly she groaned in pain. "Lulu?" Her voice was hoarse from all the crying she did. Luna had stopped twitching but still had the blue tinge. Eliana saw her daughter and gasped in horror. "Lulu!" She practically launched herself at her body and hugged her tight. She held her head in her hands, brushing her hair back she whispered. "Luna come back to me. You are not there anymore. He can't hurt you. Please Luna. That place is destroyed. He is gone. Please." Dempsey and Richtofen exchanged a quick glance of pure confusion. What was she talking about? But now Dempsey had a clue as to what was happening. "Eli. Does she have PTSD?" She didn't turn but nodded. "Yes. It normally isn't this bad….It must be because of what happened last night. All of that Element 115. The MPD. Me getting hurt. And her taking away some of my pain." Tears were now falling down her face. Dempsey now knew what to do. He let go of Luna's thighs and held onto her hand. "Hey Luna. It's me Dempsey. You are amongst friends. Come on Moonlight. Don't give up now." Richtofen offered no words. Instead he tried his best to comfort Eliana, who by now was balling her eyes out. Luna's breathing became stable; the blue left her eyes and the back of her throat. She looked like she was coming out of it. "Lulu!" Eliana exclaimed. Luna licked her lips before sitting up. She looked around the room panting softly. "Was ist passiert?" She had reverted back to German. Richtofen replied back in German. "Sie hatten einen posttraumatischen Stressanfall. Dempsey und Eliana haben dir dabei geholfen." Hearing Richtofen's voice made Luna tense up visibly. Dempsey now was putting two and two together. Did Richtofen do something to Eliana? Was it another version of himself? Eliana let go of Luna and kissed her daughter's forehead. "You are safe now sweetheart. Why don't you fly around a bit. Clear your head." Luna could only nod. Dempsey released her hand and helped her up from the bed. He followed her out into the smaller courtyard just outside the rooms. When they reached the bottom he cleared his throat. "Do you mind if I tag along? Ya know just in case that happens again?" The Dragoness turned to face him with a smile. "Ja. I would enjoy the company." He stepped back as she reverted back to her true form. This would still take time getting used to. Clambering up her leg he sat firmly on her back. She ran full speed at the same wall she had launched herself off before and took flight. Dempsey closed his eyes as the cool air hit his face. He no longer felt the cold. But instead he now felt free up high in the skies. Life couldn't be any better.

Eliana was now fully awake. Going back to sleep was not an option. Pushing the covers off of her she tried to stand up. Richtofen immediately stopped her. "What are you doing? You need to rest." She huffed out. She looked at him with a slight glare. "I have been resting since last night. It is almost the afternoon and I want to get out of this bed." Pushing his hands away she scooted off the bed. She went to stand up but groaned loudly in pain. Richtofen got up and grabbed her hands. "Let me help you." He helped her up from the bed; she stumbled a bit before Richtofen grabbed her and held her close. Her ear was right on his chest, his heart seemed calm as he held her. "You need to move slowly. You don't want to risk injuring yourself once more." Eliana pulled her face away to look up at him. He was looking down at her with a soft look in his eyes. A faint blush spread from her cheeks and down to her neck. He helped her walk outside, she leaned on him heavily. Her hip injury was acting out once again. Thankfully she didn't hit it when she hit the wall. In the distance she could see Luna flying around, doing flips and spins; on her back Dempsey seemed to be leaning forward clinging on tightly. "He would be a good Dragon Rider. He is not afraid of heights. And he seems to be a natural when in the sky with her." Richtofen was watching as well. He wondered what it would be like to fly on Luna's back by himself. One day. He wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her closer. She snuggled into his side with a hum. "When do we leave to get Takeo's soul?" She felt his body tense for a split second. "We will leave when you are feeling better. You need all of your strength for what is to come." She stood in front of him, hugging him tightly she nuzzled her face into his chest. His arms wrapped around her tightly. "I am strong enough to go." Richtofen chuckled, he brought his hand to her hair and began to run his fingers through it. "Luna would say otherwise. You are still limping. We can wait for you to heal." Eliana grumbled into his vest. Her words were muffled. "I promise to take care of you." He whispered. Eliana pulled her face back just enough to speak. "Are you saying that as a Doctor? Or as my lover?" Her face was flushed from the cold. She noticed a blush starting from his cheeks before it headed down his neck. "As your Liebhaber." She stood on her tiptoes to reach his face. She went to kiss his chin but was surprised when he bent his head down. Stopping in her tracks her eyes went wide. He licked his lips before making the first move. He kissed her lips gently; he moved away just a bit. "Do you want to go back inside? You are freezing." When he spoke his lips touched hers just slightly. Eliana nodded. She was indeed getting cold. She wanted nothing more than to be near Luna's belly right now. Not waiting for her to walk Richtofen lifted her up bridal style and carried her back inside. Her arms went around his neck so she wouldn't fall. She was placed back on the bed on top of the covers, she kicked off her boots before crawling under them. She let out what sounded like a purr of satisfaction. Richtofen sat on the bed and took off his boots. He slowly took the blood vials off his vest as well as all of his other equipment. He placed the blood vials in Eliana's bag to ensure they were safe. Turning to his side he pulled her close to his chest. She made a soft grunt as she was moved. Richtofen closed his eyes. Sleep overcame him quickly. He did not dream that night.

It had been at least another week before Eliana started to feel better. She was shocked when Nikolai had hugged her, thanking her for saving his life. She had spent most of her time with Richtofen much to Luna's displeasure. Ever since he admitted his feelings for her they had been at each other's side twenty four seven. Dempsey had a sad look on his face whenever the two were in the room. Eliana would always sit in Richtofen's lap when they would be with the group. They had been discussing where they needed to go next as well as the easter egg steps. "How do you know so much?" Takeo asked. Eliana tensed up. "I uh. I read the Kronorium." The others however did not seem convinced. Luna cleared her throat making everyone turn to her. "I think we should all sleep. We can all talk about what needs to be done tomorrow." As they all settled down for the night Eliana couldn't help but wonder. How the fuck they were going to deal with the spiders?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed it ^^ Legion is currently at work with the Zet chapters as we speak.
> 
> German Translations  
> Was ist passiert- What happened?  
> Sie hatten einen posttraunmatischen Stressanfall. Dempsey und Eliana haben dir dabei geholfen- You had a post traumatic stress attack. Dempsey and Eliana helped you out of it.


	13. Island Of Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They make it to that cursed Island. Eliana is already pissy and Takeo senses he is next. Richtofen tries a little too hard to be near Eliana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long guys. Been hella busy. Wrote this chapter out with Legion. Also I will post a link to the translations at the end of the chapter.

This was fucking great. Stuck on a fucking boat and being dragged out by Japanese Soldiers. They were treating Takeo more roughly. "El. Where is Luna?" Dempsey whispered as they were forced to the upper deck. Eliana shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I think she might be in the ocean though...all I tasted was salt." Outside was much worse. The rain beat down on all of them. The soldiers forced Takeo down onto his knees with his arms behind his back. The other three were forced to watch. The officer punched Takeo in his jaw. Eliana flinched as she heard a pop. "この恥じさを知れんか!" The man shouted in Takeo's face. The samurai clenched his teeth tightly. "日本を裏切り、陛下に仇なすとは!" Eliana tried to remember what the man had said during this part of the cutscene. But she couldn't remember. Dempsey lifted up his hand to motion for Takeo not to move. "Take it easy Tak." He whispered. The wind seemed to get faster. Eliana's hair blew around. A soldier walked up from behind the group and handed the commanding officer the Summoning Key. Richtofen tried not to tense up when they brought it out. The Officer held it up so they could all see it. It glowed faintly. "どうやって手に入れたんだ？この遺物を?" Eliana went to answer until Richtofen butt in. "I am sorry! I don't speak Japanese!" Eliana had to hold back a chuckle. He said one of her favorite lines. "誰か答えられないのか?" He seemed to get more angry. Dempsey held up his hand to point at it. "The object in your hand, it's gonna bring you nothing but pain. Believe me, I know!" The officer just got even more upset. Eliana finally snapped. "Listen you stupid fuck! None of us besides Takeo speaks Japanese! That is why no one is answering your dumb ass! So shut your fucking mouth before I make you!" Her voice had raised. The others looked at her in shock. Richtofen smiled in approval. She was indeed a fireball. One of the men slapped her across the face, they may not have understood her. But they did not like it when she raised her voice. Richtofen and Dempsey went to fight the guard who had slapped her. Then the boat rocked even more. The sound of something heavy made them all turn. Lightning struck, lighting up the dark areas. Luna stood at the front in her true form; she was drenched in salt water. Her wings spread open to make herself look bigger. The men on the ship shook in fear. Some shakily aimed their guns at her. Closing her wings she stalked forward. Her claws were un seathed as she moved closer. Lighting struck once more and she was now standing in front of the Officer. The man was shaking like a leaf by this point. Luna smirked down at him, her canines glinted in the faint light. "Stupid mortal. You shall regret the day you crossed me. Now die!" She lunged forward; gripped the upper half of his body in her mouth she tossed her head around. She slammed his body hard on the floor of the deck before finally flinging him off the ship. Turning back to the others she let out a roar. Takeo used this distraction to grab his katana and stabbed one of the men holding him. "I am no traitor!" He screamed as he did so. Everyone scattered. Dempsey was fighting off two soldiers whilst Nikolai had grabbed another. The gun was still firing as they struggled. Some bullets hit barrels of gasoline making it spill onto the deck. Richtofen grabbed a lantern before tossing it at the soldier who hit Eliana. The man combusted immediately. He dived out of the way only to notice the Summoning Key rolling towards the edge of the deck. Luna was using her claws to slash through the men. She had grabbed one with her paw and slammed him as hard as she could into the floor. His bones cracked on impact. Meanwhile Eliana was booking it towards the Summoning Key. A man stood in her way holding his katana out. She gasped before sliding to a stop. Wind rushing overhead made it known Luna had taken flight, she grabbed the man in one of her paws before dragging him up into the sky. His screams faded the higher she went. It played out as normal however. Takeo had ran towards where the Summoning Key was rolling. Richtofen was close behind him. "No no no!" He shouted. Takeo lunged forward and grabbed it with one hand. The men had grabbed Takeo for support. "That was close." Dempsey said as they pulled him up. Eliana finally caught up to them. She was breathing heavily. "A little too close. Thankfully Luna came in on time to help." Richtofen turned to look at Eliana. She went to speak before Nikolai spoke out in panic. "We must go, now!" He pushed them all into the ocean right as the deck exploded. 

Eliana tried to swim up but felt as if she couldn't. The feeling of something under her made her freak out. Oh fuck this. She was not getting devoured by a shark! Instead of being eaten alive she was pushed towards the surface. Luna was under her! "Oh thank fuck." Luna swam towards the others who were clinging onto a lifeboat. Richtofen noticed her first. He pushed himself off the boat and swam to Luna. Climbing on her back he hugged Eliana tightly. The others joined them. Luna made her way towards the island. The storm had died down when they reached it, it would take some time for them to dry off. Luna let them slide off her body and onto the mud. The humidity was making Eliana feel gross. "We finally made it. Division Nine's island." Richtofen kept his hand in Eliana's as they all looked at their surroundings. This was only just the beginning.

Looking around the crew could only see trees and plant life consuming the area as Takeo looked around in what looked to be a panic state. Taking a few steps Richtofen was trying to make out where they were but could only find the giant trees in his field of vision. Turning around to face the crew Richtofen in a confident tone "You all know why we are here?" said the German as he walked back to Eliana and stood by her side as Dempsey looked around then back at the leader "not exactly, but I have a feeling that we're going to find out" Dempsey said as at the moment the Disturbed groans of the undead started to come from the distance. Takeo looked around as he turned his attention to the sounds as he pulled out his katana. "Unfortunately we don't have time to talk," said the man as everyone in the crew pulled out their weapon's. They all pointed their weapons at the barriers that were being torn apart as they undead started to come through. Takeo with a quick motion of his blade decapitated the head of a zombie as the others started to shoot the zombies in the heads. In a breath Richtofen started to talk to Dempsey as Eliana looked back at Takeo knowing what was to come for the samurai. Lost in thought Lune looked down to see her mom not paying attention to what was behind her. Suddenly Eliana felt a gust of wind behind her as Luna pushed the zombie back, killing it as it landed on a tree stump. "Mutter, please pay attention." Luna said as Eliana looked at the dead corpse and nodded as Nikolai killed to be the last zombie for the moment. Seeing no undead around Richtofen looked around again to see if he could find anything useful and saw a bucket by a tree. On picking it up he noticed that one of the zombies had dropped what looked to be a giant seed of some kind. "Hmmm this could be useful.." he stated as he looked to see what Eliana was doing. She and Nikolai saw a path leading to what was a crashed plane as they called the others "Comrades over here!" he yelled as Dempsey, Takeo, Richtofen, and Luna in her human illusion came rushing in as Eliana pointed to the path. "We can go through here, looks to be a power station of some kind." she said as they all started following the path. Richtofen made his way to the front to be by Eliana's side but as he made his way to the front more zombies could be heard from behind a gigantic spider web. Eliana saw the web and started to freak out as she never saw a web of this size before. "Fuck no… nope fuck that." she said as she backed up as the zombies tried to crawl through the web but failing as they only got stuck in the process. Takeo then looked around to see that more were coming up behind them as he stood ready to fight them off. Nikolai ran beside him and started to drop the zombies one by one. "Edward we need a way out!" Eliana shouted as Dempsey pushed them aside and threw a grenade at the web yelling "Fire in the hole!" and with a quick motion they all ran back to a safe distance. Hearing the grenade explode, Eliana's ears started to ring as she was trying to regain her hearing. "Dempsey you fucking idiot!" she yelled at the American as Richtofen started to shoot the remaining zombies that didn't die to Dempsey grenade. "Quick move to the opening!" he said as he grabbed Eliana's hand and started to run. They all started to run to the building that had a big A on the side of it. More and more zombies started popping out of everywhere. "This way!" Takeo pointed to the stairs as the crew made their way for the building. They all rushed to the room as they killed the zombies that were in their way, Nikolai and Dempsey started to try to find something to block the door as Richtofen saw the handle to the bug metal sliding door. Rushing to close it he motioned for Dempsey to help him close the door as he rushed to aid the doctor. With their strength they managed to shut the door as the undead started to beat on it. "Mein gott, where did they all come from?" Richtofen said as he looked back to see Eliana holding her ears in pain. Rushing to her aid, Luna looked back at Dempsey and started to argue with him. Richtofen kneeled down to see what was wrong with Eliana but was stopped by her glare at him. "Eliana.. are you alright?" he asked with a concerning voice, she looked away and stared down at the floor. "Not now Richtofen." she stated with a deadpan tone trying not to get more frustrated with the doctor. Richtofen's expression turned to worry then to confusion as he stood up and looked down to her "I'm sorry… I'll um give you space ja?" she looked back at Richtofen and said nothing as he walked back to the others to see if they were hurt. After Richtofen checked everyone in the group he turned to face to examine the room they were in as he motioned for the others to help him barricade the door so they wouldn't get in. Luna walked over to her mother who looked to be trying not to get more mad then she already is. "Mutter are you alright?" Luna asked in a worrisome tone as she sat next to her. Eliana shocked her head as she gently placed a hand on her ear. "It just really fucking hurts.." Eliana said as she looked down on the floor as the others finished barricading the room and with concern Richtofen walked up to Eliana and kneeled down in front of her. "I do know that you wanted me to leave, but as a doctor let me see if you're alright" he said looking into her eyes. With a pause she nodded as he checked to make sure her ears and everything else was ok, He then looked at her and smiled. "You're going to be ok, you just need some rest ja?" With that he stood up and looked around the room as he started to think about their sleeping arrangement and then looked at Luna. "I don't think you'll be able to sleep in here Luna." the doctor said as Luna stood up and walked to the other door looking outside the window. "Maybe I can sleep on the roof, that way we're not so crowded in this place" Luna opened the door and looked around as Eliana walked beside her. With a chilling pause Eliana looked down as the zombies were underneath. She slowly looked at Luna and with a concerned look as Luna hugged her mom. "I'll be ok, I'll be the lookout just to get some rest." Eliana smiled as she hugged her daughter tightly. "Just be safe with alright?" She asked as Luna nodded and reverted to her true form; spreading her wings she jumped up on the roof of the campsite watching over as the crew got their bearings of the Division 9 research facility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the translations to what they are saying in Japanese.   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QZAXi-DJxI


	14. I think we're alone now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richtofen and Eliana try to have some alone time. Of course Dempsey interrupts them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Two chapters in one go? Tis a treat my hatchlings. Mind you this gift is a tad bit short. Next chapter shall be a bit longer. In the works of writing bits and pieces of the Gorod Chapters. As I most likely will be out of state soon. So those chapters will be posted in one go. Hopefully. 
> 
> Warning  
> Some sexual themes

Eliana didn't remember falling asleep when she felt someone shaking her awake. Opening her eyes quickly she came face to face with Richtofen. "What's wrong? Is it the zombies?" Her voice was raspy and her speech slurred. Man was she exhausted. "Nein. I want to talk with you. While the others are asleep." Eliana sat up, her body ached from sleeping on the cold steel floor. "Alright. What about?" He extended his hand for her to take; when she did he helped her up from the floor. "Not here. I don't want them to wake up und disturb us." Eliana was now concerned. What did he want to talk about? Was it questions about the Kronorium? Or maybe about Doctor Monty? Wait did he even know about Monty yet? As Eliana ran through the questions in her mind Richtofen was leading her out of Building A. They went past the bunker which made Eliana shiver. She knew inside there would be the elevator that took them down to Takeo. The corrupted Takeo. Her worries soon vanished as he rushed them into Building B. They were far away enough now that no one would disturb them. Hopefully the zombies didn't decide to come out and play. Once inside Richtofen closed the heavy sliding door. It would provide privacy and even safety if need be. Eliana's arms were crossed over her chest. Her foot tapped against the floor. "You have me curious. What did you want to talk about?" He didn't answer. But instead walked closer to her. He had a predatory look in his eyes. Eliana uncrossed her arms, she felt the air in the room was getting heavy. What was he doing? Why was he looking at her like she was a piece of meat?

He backed Eliana up against one of the tables in the room. The contents on it shifted from the force of her body. Looking down into her eyes he noticed that she seemed fearful. Maybe he was coming on too strong? His hand cupped the back of her neck gently, only then did she seem to relax. Bending down he brought his lips to hers. Her arms went to wrap around his neck loosely, his hands gripped her hair. Pulling away for air he leaned his forehead on hers. "So much for talking." Eliana jested. Richtofen rolled his eyes, making her snicker. This time she initiated the kiss. His teeth grazed her bottom lip; letting out a soft moan she pulled away. His hands now rested firmly on her hips. Both of their eyes were glazed with lust and love. She lifted her right leg up. He grabbed it and held it close to his hip. This position left her vulnerable. Their lower halves were now closer than ever. Eliana made a soft gasp sound. "Is that your belt I'm feeling?" Her voice was seductive as she looked down at his groin. A faint blush was visible on his face and neck. He let out a gasp as her hand grabbed his erection. Should he tell her he was still a virgin? Was she even a virgin? She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him hard. He let out a loud moan as she grinded up on him. He pulled away from her to fumble with his belt. He stopped and looked at her face. "Is this ok? Are you ok?" She sat on the table now. Her face was flushed from the heat of the island and of the situation. "My question is. Are you ok with it?" Her eyes seemed to stare through him. He finally had the courage to finish taking off his belt. Tossing it the side he advanced on Eliana once more. She let out a soft moan when his teeth grazed her neck. His hands made quick work of unbuttoning her pants. She lifted up a bit so he could slide her jeans off. Richtofen let out a soft growl as he eyed her underwear of choice; a black and purple lace thong. This woman would be the end of him. She wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer. He went to unbutton his pants when the sound of the door opening stopped him. "Hey Luna is looking for you-" Dempsey stopped talking as he took in the scene before him. Richtofen's hands were gripping Eliana's legs tightly, her pants were on the floor next to the table. All three of them were red with embarrassment. "I'll just uh." Dempsey turned on his heel before practically jumping down the stairs. Eliana and Richtofen kept their eyes on the door for a while before they finally moved. Richtofen sighed as he bent down to pick up her jeans; handing them to her he watched as she put them back on. Her lips were red and swollen from their makeout session. A small love bite was already appearing on her neck. She would have to hide it. Richtofen put his belt back on once Eliana was finished. Without another word they both walked out of Building B and headed back to camp. Hopefully Dempsey would keep his big mouth shut at what he saw. And hopefully next time no one would interrupt them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Richtofen. Got fucking blue balled.


	15. In Which We Move Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew gets a feel for the Island.And gets an unwelcome surprise from a certain swamp monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys for the long hiatus. Me and my co writer have been really busy! Hope you enjoy this chapter that him and I both worked on <3 Next chapter is in the works.

The sun had started to rise above the horizon when Luna woke. Her sleep was restless and interrupted. She still remembered when she had Dempsey fetch her Mutter along with Richtofen. She was not surprised that the two went off to find some alone time. Yet she could not allow Richtofen to mate with Eliana. This had been hours ago. They all fell back asleep when they entered the little makeshift camp. Standing up slowly she stretched out like a feline. Her jaws opened in a yawn; forked tongue rolling out. Smacking her lips she took in her surroundings. At night the island seemed much more sinister. Yet in the early morning light there was an odd feeling of serenity. Luna's ears twitched as she took in the sounds around her, from everyone's soft breathing inside, to the sounds of the wildlife on the island. A sudden movement from her peripheral vision made her turn her head. It was a macaw. A beautiful scarlet macaw rested on a hole in the building across from her. The bird squawked when it noticed the large predator. It flew inside the building. Rolling her eyes she leaped to the roof of the second building. Looking down the hole she sniffed loudly. The room had an odd yet surprising similar scent. She moved her nose out of the way just as the macaw flew out. Peering in the room again she decided to get a closer look. Using her human illusion she jumped down the hole and landed on the tile floor inside. Her eyes widened in shock at the room. Drawings of Wyverns littered the walls as well as eggs and incubators. Some of the eggs were completely cracked open. Luna stepped to one of the eggs that was still intact. Her hand brushed the shell gently. It was frozen. The hatchling inside had been too far gone to be revived. Uttering a growl she walked to the drawings and tore them off the walls. Her fingernails now turned to claws as her anger took over. She shredded some schematics that showed how Division Nine planned on trying to mind control the Wyverns. Mind you. Even though there was an unspoken war between Dragons and Wyverns, Luna still felt the need to destroy the instructions on how to control them. After all the same instructions could be modified and used on her own kind. Backing away from the wall she felt the fire and element in her body burn up. She opened her mouth before unleashing a torrent of flames mixed with element 115. The room was now engulfed in flames. The evidence of her distant Wyvern cousins were no more.

The smell of smoke was the first thing that Eliana woke up too. She shot up from the floor. Richtofen grumbled next to her as he lifted his head up. "Hmm?" The smoke finally hit his senses. Now wide awake he looked around for the source of the flames. Everyone else was now stirring awake; Nikolai was the first to fully stand. Looking outside he gasped. The others stood and went to him, they looked at what he was staring at. Luna was in the other building's second floor. Flames burned brightly behind her; the smoke billowed out from the hole. "Luna! What the fuck!" Eliana shouted. The Dragoness jumped down landing on the platform in front of the crew. Ash covered her body, the smell of smoke clung to her. Snorting a bit she rolled her shoulders back. "Just taking out some trash." Luna made eye contact with Eliana. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the two women. Takeo cleared his throat as the flames finally died down. Everyone turned their attention to him. "What must we do first?" His gaze was fixed on both Eliana and Richtofen. Richtofen looked down at Eliana, he held her hand loosely and gave it squeeze. Eliana felt comforted feeling Richtofen's hand in hers. "First we need to turn on the generators. Then we need the Skull of Nan Sawpe. We definitely need the pump machine parts. Hm." It took her a minute to think of what else they needed to do. "We need to build the KT-4. We need shields. The Skulls will be useful for the posters. We need to find some cogs." A large plane flew overhead making everyone flinch. Luna uttered a low growl from the sound of it. "One of the cogs is in that fucking thing." Eliana pointed out. Dempsey was the first to speak up from the group. "Alright. Where do we start?" Eliana turned and smirked. "We need buckets."

Takeo did not understand how Eliana knew what to do. When he asked all she did was shrug and reply "It will all be explained soon enough. Just please trust me and Richtofen." The samurai slashed through the undead with excellent precision. His katana cut through their flesh easily. A spore on the side of a wall exploded hitting the small horde in front of him. Stepping back he coughed violently. What was that? An unholy sound hit his ears. What greeted his eyes made him shocked. It was a large creature that seemed to be made of bark, mud and even had spores on its body. Letting out a roar the creature rushed towards him. Takeo turned on his heel and bolted towards Building B. The sounds of gunfire were promising as the creature behind him gained speed. He turned and came into contact with both Eliana and Dempsey. They were holding off some zombies whilst Luna was off to the side, she was still on her human illusion; slashing at them with her claws and growling. "Run! There is a large hellish creature on it's way!" Eliana and Dempsey turned to face him, Dempsey's gun was pointed at the ground. "What?" Eliana tilted her head like a confused dog. The ground shook beneath his feet. Eliana's jaw dropped. "Oh my fucking Gods. It's fucking Shrek!" Takeo turned with his gun ready. The creature was up the hill. It let out a guttural roar as it rushed down. "Aim for the spores and quick!" The men took her advice aiming at the spores hoping to get a hit. Dempsey's bullets hit the one on the creature's shoulder. It bent down in pain. Was it dead? It stood up and roared again. "Hurry guys!" Eliana held back the zombies as Takeo worked with Dempsey to attack the creature. As Takeo shot the last spore it had reached them. It fell to the ground with a thud. Takeo and Dempsey jumped back to avoid getting hit. "What the fuck was that?" Eliana finished unloading a clip onto a horde of zombies. She reloaded and backed up to them. "That was a Thrasher. Nasty fuckers. If one appears we should try to group up as quickly as possible. Never take on one of those things alone." Luna joined the group. "Ja. If you cannot find someone quick then shout for me. I will come if I can." Takeo eyed Luna's human illusion more closely now. He couldn't shake the feeling that her eyes held a sadness to them. He sensed she was hiding something deep inside. His focus was brought back when he heard Eliana clear her throat. Turning he looked down at Eliana who now had her gun flung over her shoulder. "Takeo. Do you have a minute to talk?" The samurai only offered a nod in a response and motioned for her to lead the way. They headed over. towards the main building that would lead down to the labs. Eliana leaned on the large tree out front. Takeo stood next to her and looked towards the sky. The woman next to him sighed loudly. "You know what is going to happen? Are you prepared for it?" Takeo focused at the roots under his feet. He had tried not to dwell on the fact he would need to kill his other self. But yet she had a point. He needed to mentally prepare for the task at hand. "No. I tried not to dwell on the thought of what will happen." He leaned on the tree next to Eliana, they listened to the sounds of the tree branches moving in the wind. The breeze felt nice for the both of them. Eliana pushed herself off the tree. She turned her head to face him, she smiled at him. "If you need to talk. I am always here for you. Or even Luna. We care for you guys." Eliana started to head back down the hill. Takeo finally remembered what he was going to ask her. "Wait!" Eliana stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. "You and Luna seem to know what the future holds. Tell me. Do you know what will happen to us all?" He noticed how she tensed up from the question. Her eyes seemed teary. As if she was about to cry. "I wish I knew. I really wish I did. Just know that what we are doing is for the better." She turned quickly and rushed down the hill. Takeo closed his eyes and leaned his head back. This was not going to be easy. Takeo then stood alone with nothing but his thoughts, on what has yet to come. 

Eliana was walking back as she saw the group finally at building B probably restoring the power to open the main doors to this creepy place. Eliana knew that this whole ordeal was going to be hard. She then looked at her gun and checked to see how much ammo she had left. She estimated that she only had a clip and a half of ammo left, she would have to make her shots count. The group started making their way to the main entrance and Takeo was already looking at the door to what might change him or evidently break him. He saw Eliana coming back with Richtofen leading the group to the door. Takeo looked at Richtofen as he stood there viewing the door and how to open it. He then started to turn the valve as it started to open. As the door started to open, whilst doing so caused what seemed to be another horde coming their way. The zombies started to surround the group, Takeo pulled out his blade of sorrows and started to cut them down as Richtofen motioned to Dempsey to help with the door. "Quickly before they overrun us!" Nikolai said as he pulled out his hatchet and started to hold them off with Takeo. Eliana looked at Luna for a few seconds before Luna reverted back to her true form and started to rip and tear the horde, Dempsey looked back to see Luna being a bad ass then focused his attention on the door. Eliana ran to Richtofen's aid as they were almost close to opening the main door. With one final push the door had been sealed shut. "It's open! Haul your asses over here!" Dempsey yelled as the group made their way inside the facility. Luna had to change back into her human illusion as she retreated into the main labs. Once inside Richtofen made sure everyone was alright, as he was done making sure his team was safe for wear he looked around to spot a few doors leading to other rooms. Richtofen decided to split up so that they could figure out what is next to find Takeo's other self. Luna, Tank, and Nikolai would split up to find something deeper in the facility while Eliana, Richtofen, and Takeo would go and find the main power switch. 

Luna was searching the rooms with Tank as Nikolai was picking up a shield part next to the giant cannon. Dempsey then walked next to Luna and with a playful look he nudged her gently. "That was awesome! I'm glad you're on our side." Dempsey stated as Luna smiled lightly as the group made their way deeper into the compound. Dempsey and Nikolai were on point when they made there way into what seem to be the barracks, Dempsey with his trusty knife and Nikolai with his hatchet they slowly made their way inside to see if there was anything useful for their quest. Luna looked around to see cocoon type of pods around them, she tensed up and seemed to be on guard as Dempsey seemed to notice her tension. "What's the matter?" he asked as he fully turned around to see what was up. What came next startled the group as Nikolai let out a terrified scream as one of the cocoons opened up to reveal a zombie, it jumped on Nikolai as the other pods started to all combust simultaneously. The group was surrounded and they didn't have any type of ammo for their guns, Dempsey then rushed to Nikolai's aid as he stabbed the zombie in the head killing it instantly. Throwing the zombie to the side Nikolai stood up with his comrades and started to fight for their lives. Meanwhile Eliana, Richtofen, and Takeo were busy fighting their own zombies as both Edward and Takeo were under the water fighting to make sure the water system wouldn't get clogged again with webs. Eliana was standing outside next to the power switch trying to fight more of the dead as they just popped up out of nowhere. One zombie was rushing her as Eliana was trying not to waste her ammo but she was about to get overwhelmed by the zombies. She pointed her gun at a zombie's head and took her shot, it fell on the ground with a thud, as another was sneaking up behind her. With a quick motion she grabbed the zombie and threw it over her and stomped on its head instantly killing it. She then turned around and started to shoot more of them. The last of the water was being circulated for the water pumps and the door started to open again. Takeo and Richtofen made their way to Eliana with Richtofen concerned for her safety, but as they came out Richtofen saw her pistol-whipping one last zombie. It's body landed on the floor as Eliana was covered in blood. Bodies later all around her as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. “Wow.” Richtofen stood there with a look of admiration as Eliana looked at Richtofen with a slightly confused look on her face. Taking a second Richtofen then cleared his throat and proceeded to ask if she was ok. She nodded instead of giving a verbal answer. They then headed off to find the others. The whole group needed to be together in order to face what was next. And Eliana knew deep down she was not prepared for the obstacle that laid in their wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> Also in regards to me calling them Wyverns and not Dragons. One when I was growing up I always called creature with two wings and two legs Wyverns. And Dragons were either four legs and two wings. Or the Chinese Dragons. I get they call them Dragons in game but to me (A person who has studied Mythological Creatures) they are Wyverns. So sue me.


	16. Supaidādansu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew starts cracking down on getting the Easter Egg done. Luna and Richtofen have some bonding time. Arguments come up more often than not. A spider is slain and someone in the group makes a stupid mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long hiatus guys. Been busy helping my co writer, Gamers Legion, on a YouTube project. I will post the link to it when I can down below! 
> 
> Chapter Warnings!
> 
> Graphic Violence  
> Slight gore  
> Arguing

Wiping sweat off her forehead Eliana trudged through the mud. This sucked ass. She thought she left all that mud behind at the Excavation Site. Takeo and Richtofen followed behind her. They too seemed to be having issues with the mud. "Where the fuck did the others go? One minute they were in the lab. Then the next they fucking vanish." To say she was frustrated was an understatement. "They could have been pushed out of the lab. If a large horde came for them." Takeo spoke up. Shit. He was right. Maybe they were chased out by a horde. Eliana stopped suddenly making the two men stop as well. Richtofen looked at Eliana in confusion. "What's wrong?" She closed her eyes to help her focus. She sent her thoughts out to Luna. When she got a reply is when her eyes shot open. "I know where they are! And they need our help!" She rushed over to where they first started. The sounds of fighting finally hit their senses. Takeo withdrew his katana and sliced through any undead that came towards them. “Go! I will lead this small group away!” Richtofen ran past wielding an ICR-1 that he had acquired from the box. Eliana was hesitant to leave but with a nod from Takeo she followed after Richtofen. She grabbed her Argus as she skidded to a stop. Luna, Dempsey and Nikolai were completely surrounded! Luna was now in her true form trying to slash at any zombies coming her way, some had the nerve to try and crawl up onto her back. Eliana let out a growl and rushed forward to help. She now noticed that Richtofen and Nikolai were side by side, cutting down the zombies that came close. She ran towards Dempsey and shot at a zombie’s legs when it got too close to the marine. “Thank fuck you guys are here! Where’s Tak?” Dempsey switched over from his Haymaker to his Dingo. “He went to lead some of them away!” Shit he might need their help! Eliana looked towards Luna who was tearing the zombies off of her back. She gripped one by the leg in her teeth and shook the creature. It’s upper body flew clean off, exposing its rotted organs. Blood coated the ground at her paws. “Lulu! Go provide Takeo with air support! And quick! We got this!” Luna looked as if she was about to argue. But one look from her mother made her stay quiet. Taking to the skies she went to look for the wandering samurai. The four of them all met up in a tight group by the waters edge. Nikolai gripped his Gorgon tightly, Richtofen had switched over to his HVK-30. Eliana lifted her gun up as the horde came closer. She just hoped that they would survive this.

Luna had flown past Building A with no luck in finding Takeo. She hopped that he was alright and that the zombies had not caught him. Hearing gunshots near Building B made her ears twitch. Bingo. Flapping her wings she gained speed, flying overhead where Takeo was, letting out a roar to make her presence known. The samurai was completely surrounded. And a Thrasher was now making its way over to the already exhausted man. Luna thought quickly and dove down. She opened her paws up and unsheathed her claws. Gripping the Thrasher tightly she ascended back up. Using all of her force she tossed the creature into the nearby swamp. It landed in the water with a harsh crunch from the force of the impact. Satisfied she flew back over to help Takeo, who was now under the scaffolding where the green water was. She landed on it making it creak and groan under her weight. Takeo kept firing his BRM into the horde, blood and body parts flew out everywhere. The ground looked more red than brown at this point. “Takeo! Climb onto my tail! Und quick!” Her tail blade touched the ground making it easier for him to scramble up. When he was safely on her back is when she unleashed a torrent of flames. The smell of burning flesh made Takeo gag. He hid his face close to Luna’s neck and tried to focus on her scales instead of the gore below. When the horde finally burned to ash is when she closed her mouth. Her tongue came out to lick some of the blood off her snout. Takeo muttered in Japanese as he swayed on her back. “Are you alright?” She turned her head as best as she could to see him. He looked pale as hell. “Yes. I will be fine.” She made sure he was hanging on tightly before she flew up into the air. She flew over to the others quickly, she needed to get back before they became overwhelmed. 

Takeo clung onto the spike, the feeling of the wind felt like needles on his face. She landed in the pond right behind the other four who were spraying the horde in front of them with bullets. Body parts, blood and rotted organs lay everywhere in front of them. Takeo felt warmth coming from Luna; he braced as she opened her mouth and unleashed flames onto the horde. Eliana had backed up right into Luna's chest, the others stood near her paws. The zombies kept coming as Luna's fire grew hotter and darker in color. Takeo jumped off her back to land in the water below. He didn't want to get burned. "Luna! Thrashers!" Takeo couldn't see them but he could hear them. Richtofen grabbed Eliana's arm and yanked her closer to him. Everyone watched with wide eyes as the creatures seemed unaffected by the flames spewing from the dragon's mouth. "Luna! The Element! Use it on them!" Eliana's voice was shrill with fear. Luna shut her mouth stopping the flames. Her muscles twitched as she focused. Her spikes, tail blade, horns and even her eyes held an electric blue glow to them now. She opened her mouth to let out a stream of Element 115 on the Thrashers. The blue glow brightened whenever she would breathe it out. The Trashers fell to the ground twitching from the Element. Luna stopped to take a breath. Smoke came out from her mouth along with small flecks of blood. A blue tint coated the back of her throat. Everyone backed away to stare at Luna. The only one who wasn't shocked was Eliana; who was concerned for her daughter's safety. The Dragoness fell forward, her face landing in the mud. Eliana bent down to pet her snout. "Liebe...Was that?" Richtofen didn't finish his sentence. Eliana turned to the group and nodded. "Yes...Luna can breathe the Element. But it hurts her...now you also know how she can open up portals. It's a long story. I promise to tell you all soon. Right now we need to get her some more of the Element. And I know where to find it."

Takeo walked next to Luna's left hind leg. It had taken a couple of minutes to make Luna stand back on her paws. Her wings hung down at her sides, her tail dragged in the mud behind her. Her muscles seemed to tremble with each step she took. Everyone was silent as they made their way to the blue water. Richtofen had been trying to get answers out of Eliana but to no avail. She seemed more concerned for Luna. Nikolai had taken place by Luna's right hind leg; the Russian seemed deep in thought. His gaze was trained on Eliana the whole time. Takeo let out a sigh. He knew everyone had their secrets. But it seemed as if Eliana and Luna had more secrets than the rest of them. Secrets that should be known. Finally reaching the small pool they all stopped to let Luna go on her own. She all but ran over and dipped her head down. Her forked tongue lapped at the water, sparks of the Element didn't seem to affect her. Dempsey went towards her and laid his hand on her front leg. The dragoness stopped drinking to turn towards Dempsey, she licked his face making him back away gagging. Nikolai let out a chuckle at the display. Takeo leaned back against the wall, his hand resting over the hilt of his katana. So many thoughts raced through his mind as the others made minor jokes. Leaning his head back he let his eyes close. Today had already been rough. And he just knew that it would only get worse from here. His eyes shot open as he felt warmth hitting his face. He came face to face with Luna's snout. Everyone was now looking at him. Eliana's head was tilted, her eyes held a look of concern. "You alright Tak?" He nodded. "Yes. I will be alright. We must continue forward. We should not sit around any longer." His gaze focused on both Richtofen and Eliana. The two of them stood close together. Their pinkies were intertwined as if they were still too afraid to hold hands. "Takeo is right. The sooner we secure the other Takeo's soul the better." Richtofen had shifted his weight as Eliana stood closer to him. Takeo could not seem to read their expressions. But he knew one thing. The rest of the day would not be easy for any of them.

Getting the skulls charged up was a hassle in itself. Eliana had been adamant when she decided to group with Takeo and Nikolai. Richtofen wished she had stayed with him, but instead she left him with Dempsey and Luna. Takeo had since got more ammo for his Weevil as he had run out using it on the earlier horde. Thankfully the zombies were few and in between at the moment. A majority of them mainly came from the green portals that had appeared once they had placed the skull on the pedestal. Nikolai was taking a majority of them down with his Brecci; Eliana had proven her skills with shotguns as she used her Argus with ease. Takeo grabbed the skull when it finished, holding it in his hand felt odd. His whole body felt heavy as if there was a weight on his very soul. Shaking that feeling off he motioned for Nikolai and Eliana to follow. Both of them covered his back as they made their way back to the Ritual Site. Luna, Dempsey and Richtofen were already at the site. The two men were awkwardly perched on Luna's back. Dempsey was the first to slide off. Eliana laughed loudly as Edward held onto the spike in front of him. Takeo nodded at Dempsey as both of the men placed the skulls in their respective spots. They had finished all the skulls with only minor issues. The sound of the concrete moving made everyone turn. Luna jumped out of the way last minute. Richtofen held onto her neck tightly. The tree had seemingly vanished and stairs had now appeared. Takeo stepped forward to peer down. An eerie feeling made his hackles rise. Nikolai looked down as well with a perplexed look on his face. "I am guessing we have to go down this hell hole?" He turned to face Eliana. Takeo did not wait to hear her response as he started his descent down the stairs. Nikolai, Dempsey and Eliana had followed him down. All of them gripped onto their guns tightly. They scanned the room with their weapons, all of them looking down the sights. Takeo was the first to make his way to the skull in the middle of the room. His hand hardly brushed it when it glowed brightly. Portals opened up with Keepers pouring out of them. Eliana readied her Argus. "Fucking fantastic."

Richtofen and Luna had opted to stay above ground in case a horde had decided to show up. Luna was displeased that the man was still sitting up on her back. The feeling of his bare hands on her neck made her quiver each time. "Should we go down to help them?" Hearing him made her break out of her trance. Her ears twitched at the sounds of gunfire and them yelling. "Nein. They will be fine. We should start to get the cogs. We will need them for the elevator." The sound of the plane flying overhead made her duck low to the ground. Richtofen grunted at the sudden movement. "Und one of them is in that plane…" She got back up and lifted her wings. Richtofen held on tightly, he leaned forward a bit as she took off into the sky. The sun was just starting to set meaning they all had to work quickly. She flew around the area looking down at the ground trying to remember where the cogs were located. She suppressed a growl when she realized where the first cog was. She dove down to the building making Richtofen grip onto her harder. Landing on the building she bent her neck down so that Richtofen could jump into the hole. "The cog is inside. Hopefully it did not melt." He steadied himself as he stood on her neck. He took the leap and landed roughly in the small burnt up lab. Richtofen looked around at the burnt lab; his eyes gazed over a single egg in the corner of the room. He felt Luna's hot breath reach him, she had stuck her snout in the hole. "Edward. Hurry. Und get what we need. This room is no longer important." He rolled his eyes before skimming around the room. Finally finding the cog he placed it in his pocket. Luckily enough it fit. He clambered back onto Luna's neck before heading down to her back. She took off into the sky again. Looking down they noticed that the others had already got the skulls of Nan Sapwe, but instead of heading down to them the dragoness kept flying. They could handle themselves now that they had the skulls. Luna looked around by the docks for the small control panel. She needed to activate it and have Richtofen grab the cog. "Hang on! Und be ready to go on the zipline! You need to grab the cog in mid air!" She started her descent towards the control panel, charging up the Element in her body she shot a tiny bit out of her mouth. As it hit the panel Richtofen grabbed onto the zip line to slide down. He let go of the line to fall down towards the cog, he caught it quickly. Luna dived down with her back facing the ground. She let him land on her stomach. She held him close with her front paws; he wiggled around to get comfortable. She spotted the others and decided to land near them. Her hind paws hit the ground first; she let Richtofen go so she could properly land. Everyone checked on each other and Nikolai handed Richtofen a skull. Dempsey ran over to hug Luna's neck tightly. The dragoness chuckled softly. "Alright guys! It's getting dark. So either we could sleep or we could try to keep going." Eliana spoke up. Everyone looked at each other before finally turning their gaze towards Takeo. After all they were going after his soul. The samurai thought for a moment before nodding. Eliana went over to him and patted his shoulder. The sound of the plane flying overhead made them all look up. It seemed to be flying lower than normal. Now was Luna's chance to shoot that damned thing down. She raced up the small cliffside making Eliana holler out to her. She stopped at the top of it and charged up a fireball. It unleashed from her mouth quickly, it hit its target making the plane explode. The others down below covered their eyes at the bright explosion before turning their attention to Luna. The dragoness turned to face them. The sunset made her scales shine, her eyes glowed blue. "That plane was starting to piss me off."

Richtofen stood in front of the group as Eliana decided to let Edward explain how to get the weapon called the KT-4. He looked at the others as they seemed to be listening to what they had to do, and Eliana took the time to look around to spot Luna landing down near the group. She was starting to grow a liking to the battle hardened Marine, it was great that she actually made her feel as if she could finally see her daughter happy. His train of thought was cut short by the sounds of something coming. Dempsey looked around as he locked and loaded his Dingo, the others did the same as something started making creepy noises. Then out of nowhere giant spiders started to crawl across their position as Eliana started to freak out. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck!" she started to yell as she rushed to the others but was stopped by a few blocking her path. Eliana tried to stay calm but was having a hard time running away from the fucking spiders. She made her way to Building A as she thought of an idea. Seeing that the cage was down and primed with the spider bate she ran passed it as one of the fucking eight legged basted took the bate and was locked in the cage. She turned back and saw that she got the first part of the KT-4. She noticed that she was about to get overwhelmed by the spiders as they started to surround her. She looked around to see if she could get away from them but she was stuck. Then from the corner of her eye she saw Edward making his way towards her. He then slid on the ground stopping within a few feet in front of Eliana, and started to fire his ICR-1 at the spiders. She was so panicked as she couldn't move, closing her eyes she hoped for this fucking day to end. Out of anything why did it have to be fucking spiders!

Edward unloaded on the spiders as Eliana was in the corner panicking. He killed all of them as he stood up and turned his head to see Eliana now looking at his blue eyes. He turned his body around to completely stare at her. "Are you alright?" He asked concerned for her. She nodded; he wrapped his arms around her waist. Eliana accepted the hug and buried her head in his chest. With a soft motion Edward ran his fingers through her hair to comfort her as Eliana was trying to stay calm and not having to think if they had gotten to her. This lasted for only a few minutes as Edward let go of his beloved but was interrupted by the sounds of the undead making their way towards them. "Nein this isn't good." Edward said in an angry tone as he reloaded his ICR and Eliana did the same with her Argus. The both stood side by side as what looked to be twenty of them started to come out of the ground. Eliana was seriously starting to look tired as she aimed her shotgun at the zombies head, but she wasn't about to let them get her and Richtofen. Richtofen then started shooting all their heads off as Eliana then shot a few in the chest instantly killing them. They headed to the sounds of the others, starting to make their way to them as Eliana then bashed her gun into the skull of a zombie, causing the rotten brain to fly out in chunks. The group finally made their way back to them as they saw the bodies on the floor. Takeo looked at Richtofen as he seemed to have a worried expression on his face as Eliana looked to be on the brink of collapse. “She needs to rest. Before she collapses.” Richtofen stated, Luna nodded in agreement. They all went back to their camp at Building A as Edward sat Eliana down with some water for her to drink. “Here you are.” Edward said as Eliana took the water and smiled at him. She was starting to feel better but she fucking hated spiders. “I hate this fucking island” she stated as Edward and the others were talking amongst themselves. Eliana noticed that Luna was making her way towards her as she smiled to see her daughter. “Are you doing better?” Luna asked with worry as Eliana nodded and smiled at her. "I'll be ok, it was just anxiety.” Luna returned her smile but this moment was interrupted by the group extracting the DNA from the spider that Eliana had trapped. Eliana’s hackles were still on end even if the creature was trapped within a steel cage. After it died is when she started to calm her nerves. She really needed to get her arachnophobia in check.

After the spider was dead, Richtofen then told the group that they needed to go back into the facility to get the last part for the KT-4. Everyone was almost in agreement with the plan except for Nikolai. Eliana looked at the Russian as he started to argue with Richtofen. She only wished that he would lay off him, in which case was nothing new but still. It pissed her off that he didn't at least try to get along with him. Nevertheless they started to make their way to the facility as they searched for the last part for the KT-4. They walked deeper into the facility as they all had their guns ready just in case something happened. They walked in to where the KT-4 could be built. Walking to the table they saw the case for the weapon and then saw the last part for the KT-4. "Uh that's interesting.." Eliana mumbled as Richtofen looked at it as he started to put the parts together. "Ja, this should work!" he said to himself as the weapon started to mix the chemicals together. After a few seconds a ding came from the weapon which turned the heads of the group. Richtofen looked at Eliana which made her confused for a few seconds but realized what he was doing. "You want me to have it?" she asked as he nodded with a smile. She couldn't help but feel happy that she would wield the wonder weapon. "Wait, why does she get weapon? She can't even handle spiders." Nikolai said as he pushed past Dempsey. Both of them looked back at Nikolai as he then turned his attention to Eliana. "She can't even kill spider without freaking out, she'll get us all killed!" He started to yell. This caused Luna to get angry but was stopped by Dempsey stepping in. "Nik she had a panic attack, but that doesn't mean she can't kick ass." He stated as they all looked back at Nikolai, and with a huff Richtofen looked at Nikolai with a cold gaze. "She gets it and that is final, Now let's move on shall we?” Richtofen walked away shoulder checking Nikolai on the way. The others agreed and they started to look at Eliana who started yelling that the group needed to find a poster and a wall that were located in the barracks and near the facilities main entrance. They split up in two groups which in group one was Eliana, Luna, and Dempsey. The other group consisting of Richtofen, Takeo, and Nikolai went to find the poster in the barracks. While Eliana and her group went to find the wall. They walked to the entrance as Luna looked at Dempsey who was making sure it was safe for them. She was starting to like him for his bravery. It also helps that he can kick some ass when it comes down to it. While Luna was lost in thought Eliana pulled out her skull and memorized the wall. When it started to disappear, she smiled and walked it to the room and found where the cogs needed to go. She then realized that this must be the elevator. She exited the room to see the others coming back as she then started to explain that the elevator was right under their noses. Richtofen then put the two cogs into the elevator but noticed that it needed one more. "It must be or was in the plane" he said as he walked out and started to talk to the group. "We need to fight something rather big." He stated as Eliana totally forgot about the giant spider in the cave. Her attention then came back as the group looked at her with worry besides Nikolai. "Eliana can stay outside while we all deal with the spider." Dempsey proposed as Richtofen then nodded as they made their way to the cave. 

The crew made it to the cave as Eliana looked at the web and then pulled out the KT-4. She aimed at the giant web and shot it, the web started melting as the group looked at the cave and then started to see if they had enough ammo. "Is everyone ready?" Takeo asked as everyone nodded and started to slide down the cave. Richtofen turned to Eliana for a moment and then walked up to her and softly planted a kiss on her cheek. In surprise they both blushed as they paused for a moment. Eliana cleared her throat which Richtofen realized that he needed to help the others. "Be safe ok?" He said as she nodded with a smile. He slid down the cave as he could hear the group firing at something. When he got down there he saw that Luna was in her true form and started to attack the monstrosity of a spider. Luna stomped one of its legs in as it screamed in pain the group started to fire at it's mouth which caused it to start stomping its legs which made the floor shake. Luna then used her body against the spider against the cave wall, but one of its legs swung at Nikolai hitting his arm. He fell to the floor letting out a scream of agony. Richtofen then rushed to see if he was alright as Luna finally bit into its neck and caused it to whine in pain. A few seconds passed as it's body fell to the ground. She backed up and looked back to see if the group was doing ok. Nikolai got up and pushed Richtofen off of him and started to walk to the spider. Richtofen then walked to the mouth of the spider and pulled out it's fang and handed it to Takeo to put in his backpack. They all made their way out of the cave, each of them looking at Nikolai which he was glaring at Luna with anger. Richtofen was the first to find the exit and looked down to see Eliana looking up at Richtofen with a smile. "You ok up there?" she asked as they started to jump down. "We're ok, but I need to see if-" Richtofen was cut off as he heard Nikolai fell off the caves exit and landed on the ground. Eliana and Richtofen ran to see if he was ok, while Dempsey tried to help Nikolai up. He pushed him off as he stood up and looked at Richtofen and Eliana running towards him. "Nikolai are you alright?" Eliana asked as she stood beside Richtofen. The group looked at him in worry. But he wasn't buying it, he had enough of this witch and her daughter. 

He stood there as he stared at Eliana with hatred. He couldn't stand that she was starting to get close to the German. Everything they have done she's known and probably knows more then she's telling us. "Don't you dare talk to me witch!" He yelled as he walked forward to meet her eyes. "You have no right to be here!" Nikolai said as he stood only a foot away from her. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Eliana asked in a cold tone which caused the group to stare at both of them. "You and your daughter don't belong! Everything we've have done you know. Yet you don't tell us what happens after we capture are immortal souls!" He yelled into her face which made Eliana mad. "You need to stop acting like a child and calm down before something bad happens." She said coldly as Nikolai looked at Richtofen. "What? Is the German going to protect you?" He sarcastically remarked. "No, I can take care of myself." She stated; Nikolai then looked at Luna. "Your nothing without your daughter you vile witch!" Luna was about to chime in but was stopped by Dempsey as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Nik you need to take a walk." Dempsey said as he then turned his head to Dempsey. "You have no say in this American!" Eliana had enough of his shit and was about the tell him to fuck off but was stopped as Nikolai punched Eliana in the jaw. Eliana fell to the floor as both Takeo and Dempsey pushed Nikolai back and held him back. Luna and Richtofen rushed to see if she was ok. Richtofen shook her but concluded that she was knocked out cold. This sparked something between Luna and Richtofen. Luna started to turn into her true form but was stopped by Richtofen as he ran in front of Luna. "Don't! I'll handle this ok?" Richtofen pleaded to Luna. Luna looked at the eyes of Richtofen and saw the truth in his words. She calmed down and rushed to help her mother to their camp. Richtofen turned his attention to Nikolai as he started to walk to him. "Let him go." He said in a cold tone. They both let him go as Nikolai looked at Richtofen. "You need to get your shit together!" He yelled as he then looked at his arm. "I'll get you patched up but after that you need to take a walk." He stated as Nikolai looked down and nodded. With that they all walked back to their camp to deal with this whole mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter ^^ Also if you can guess the title of the Chapter and the inspiration behind it I shall give you a cookie lol.


	17. Educational Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for an Educational Interlude with Luna! She explains why Dragons and Wyverns hate each other as well as some differences!
> 
> *Basically somewhat of a filler chapter tbh*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus guys. Been really busy with work and what not. Next chapter is almost done!

"Gather around everyone! It's story time!" Eliana crawled on Luna's side and laid down on her stomach. Nikolai and Takeo sat close to Luna's head whilst Dempsey curled up next to her stomach. Richtofen scrambled up to join Eliana; once he cuddled close to her is when he finally settled down. "Ain't we a little too old for stories?" Dempsey remarked. Luna smacked him gently with her tail making him flinch. "This story is not meant for children my love. As it contains horrors beyond any child's understanding." Eliana snickered to herself as Dempsey flushed a vibrant red. "Let me guess. It is about how Wyverns and Dragons came to hate one another? Doesn't it have to do with the Great War? Also why bring it up now?" Both Luna and her Mother knew that their next destination would have those damned Wyverns. "Ja. It does." She went to continue before being cut off. "What is the difference between a Wyvern und a Dragon?" She felt Richtofen slip a bit as he readjusted himself on her side. "Good question. Dragons are intelligent beings. Most Dragons have six limbs, four legs und two wings. Some Dragons have four wings which is rare. Eastern Dragons have no wings but are seen as Dragons due to their intelligence. Wyverns have four limbs und are hive minded. They also have stingers at the end of their tails; well most of them." Luna looked at the other three in case they had any questions. When no one spoke up is when she started telling the history of the Dragons and Wyverns.

"Before the times of the Great War, Dragons and Wyverns kept away from each other due to a territory dispute. Yet Dragons and Wyverns are similar in the fact that they have family groups called Clans. In Dragon Clans there is the Matriarch and Patriarch. They rule the Clan. Their Eldest Hatchling helps them keep order in the Clan as well as helping them raise any future Hatchlings they might have. It is also the Eldest's job to protect the entire Clan if need be." Dempsey shifted his body as Luna spoke, he closed his eyes before a question popped up in his head. "Why is it the older child's job? Why not the parents? Do Dragon parents not raise their kids?" His question was a good one. After all one would think that it would be the parents job. "Ja. The parents do raise the Hatchlings. But as soon as a full fledged Clan is formed they need help taking care of their kin. Und they will need help in enforcing the rules depending on how large the Clan is." Her scales started to shift upwards. When a Dragon remembered something their scales would shift and crawl. Eliana was used to this; her lover not so much. Richtofen slid down from Luna's side to sit next to Dempsey. The marine grunted in annoyance at the close proximity. Luna continued. "Wyverns also have Clans. But their Clans are ruled by only a Matriarch. Wyverns don't think for themselves. They obey what the Matriarch says no matter what it is. Wyverns also have a habit of inbreeding at times. Which explains their stupidity." A soft snort left Nikolai at this information. "When the Great War started. Well Dragons und Wyverns weren't involved. Until one day the Shadowman came forth. He asked the highest ranking Clans if they would join by his side in battle. They said no. As they did not wish to fight in war. The Shadowman had left without a word. Just a simple nod...the Dragons thought it was over…" Luna's voice got softer as she recalled the story that had been passed down. Generation after generation. Memory after memory. Feeling Eliana's hands on her neck made her come back to reality. All eyes were on her. She cleared her throat and blinked away any forming tears. "The Wyverns attacked the Dragons. They killed Hatchlings. Smashed eggs. Und killed expecting Dragoness'. It was a slaughter. The Wyvern's suddenly stopped fighting before making a part in their ranks. The Clan Matriarch came forward and on her back was none other than the Shadowman. Now you may be wondering who the Shadowman is. Let's just say he ist a mean bastard. A harbinger of death. The Devil himself. He led the Wyverns und Apothicons into battle. The Dragons in turn helped the Keepers. In the end the Keepers und Dragons won the war. Und the rest is history." Luna kept the rest hidden. Her memories were now changing. Instead of her ancestors being there. She saw herself there. Along with the men and her own mother.

They all settled down after hearing Luna's tale. The sounds of the island lulled all of them to sleep. For tonight they would sleep outside as it was too warm to be inside the building. Luna laid her head down on her paws. She felt Dempsey shift next to her making her ears twitch. "You alright Moonlight? You seem tense?" His hand rested on her neck, it was bare making it easier for him to feel the heat radiating from her body. The gentle breeze made her body feel slightly cooler. "Ja. I am fine. Just thinking about the future…" She stole a glance at Eliana who was curled up close to Richtofen. His arms were wrapped tightly around her waist; his face buried in the crook of her neck. She turned to catch Dempsey staring at her. "You shouldn't worry too much about the future. Future ain't here yet. The present is what determines the future. Think about the now and not the when." Luna knew he spoke true. But at the same time she had already seen bits of the future. Due to her traveling and due to her reading the Kronorium. A secret which she even kept from her mother. Flashes of what was to come blinded her mind for a quick moment. Wyverns, the house, Dr Monty, The Great War, a Dark Mechanism and those icy blue eyes with small hints of gold. She clenched her eyes shut as she heard his maniacal laughter within her head. Dempsey sensed her stress and cuddled closer to her. "Ease your mind Lulu. Try to get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow." She closed her eyes as he curled up close to her neck. Her focus turned towards the sounds of the others breathing. Takeo's soft snoring made her ears twitch. As her mind started to settle the images in her mind came back once more. A nuclear bunker, fighting Dr Monty, a campfire, drinking, death but yet birth. She could vaguely see it and even hear it. A small baby being held in someone's arms. His hair was pitch black, and when he turned to her view is when she saw the babe's eyes. They were the same blue eyes that her tormentor had. She curled her lip before stopping herself. Even though it was a series of events that were to come. It felt as if it were happening now. She felt the baby's hands touch her snout. He gurgled softly, making her smile. Maybe the future wouldn't be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoped you enjoyed this short little chapter to tide you guys over!


	18. Dead Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally face the Beast. But at what cost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the really long hiatus. Lots of things of happened. I promise to update more my Hatchlings ^^

Luna had held Eliana close to her body. Nikolai really did some damage to her, a bruise was already forming where his fist connected. The dragoness sighed as she set her mother down on her bedroll. A mix of scents hit her nostrils, her mother's mixed in with Richtofen's. She held back a growl as the others walked in. Thankfully Nikolai was not with the group; Luna could not handle the Russian right now, she wanted to rip his flesh clean from his bones. She didn't notice that Richtofen was kneeling beside her mother. His hands went to brush her hair, he seemed to be gentle as he shifted to sit beside her. Luna's eyes were lidded as she stood, feeling Dempsey's hand on her shoulder made her come out of her daze. "You ok Moonlight?" Her ears perked up at the nickname. It wasn't the first time he has used it. "Ja. I am fine. I need some air." She stepped out of the building and headed down the stairs. Luna stopped at the end of the stairs, sitting down she let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. "This seat taken?" Her head turned to see Dempsey sitting next to her. He took a cigarette out one of his pockets then went to grab his zippo. Luna took the cigarette from his hand; she breathed softly letting a flame hit the cigarette. She took a puff from it before handing it to Dempsey. "Thanks. I keep forgetting that you are a dragon." Luna gave him an incredulous look. "How can you forget? I literally am in mein true form a majority of the time. Rarely am I in this form." She motioned at her human illusion. "Mein eyes are still natural. Und mein canines are still sharp." Her tongue ran along her canines to make a point. Dempsey stared blankly at her, his cigarette hung loosely from his lips; the smoke curled up and into the air. "Hallo? Earth to the American?" She waved her hand in front of his face. He shook his head clear. "Huh? What? Sorry. Just got distracted by an angel~" He winked at her; she rolled her eyes. "Stop flirting you fool." He chuckled as he took another drag from his cigarette. He blew the smoke at Luna making her eyes go wide. "Shit! Sorry Lulu!" She let out a chuckle as she let out a plume of smoke his way. His face was in shock as she let out a boisterous laugh. Dempsey tossed his cigarette to the ground to stand in front of Luna. She cast her gaze up at him with tears in her eyes, he let out a laugh as he bent down to pick her up. She let out a screech as her hands gripped the back of his shirt. "Let me go!" Laughter filled her voice however as he spun her around. He stopped and let her down on the ground, she gripped his forearms tightly. "You know. Ever since you and Eliana came around. Things just seem brighter around here. Also it's just nice having women in the group." He rubbed the back of his neck as a blush covered his features. Luna smirked at him as his face kept getting red. He went to speak up again until Luna leaned forward, she placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Hush now my dear American. You speak too much at times." If Dempsey could melt into a puddle he probably would from the sheer amount of butterflies in his stomach. Who knew that he would find love in these dark times.

Takeo sat on his bedroll with his katana on his lap. He had a rag in one hand as he carefully cleaned the blade, the writing towards the hilt was covered in blood. The samurai scoffed loudly as he cleaned off the gore. A samurai should always keep their blades clean and ready for battle. That is what his grandfather had always told him when he was younger. The sound of coughing made him lift his head; Eliana was waking up, her hand went to her jaw immediately. "How are you feeling Eliana?" She jumped when she heard him. He got a good look at her bruise, Nikolai hit her hard leaving a sizable bruise where his fist connected. Thankfully he did not dislocate her jaw. "My jaw is sore. And it hurts to move it." As she spoke flecks of blood came out of her mouth. Takeo stood and went to her immediately, his hand rubbed the area on her jaw where it hurt she let out a groan. "Do you want me to get Richtofen?" She was quick to shake her head. "No. I am fine. Just...stay with me please." Hearing her sound so broken hurt him. This poor woman had suffered a lot since coming here. She always seemed to be getting hurt all the time. He bought out a handkerchief from his pocket, he gently rubbed the small specks of blood away from her chin. "Where is Luna? Did she kill Nikolai? Oh my gods! Did she eat him!?" Her hands gripped his shoulders. Takeo let out a soft chuckle, his hands gripped her forearms gently. "No. And I believe she is outside with Dempsey. I heard laughter a minute ago. It is nice to hear laughter at a time like this." The group did need to laugh more. It would definitely improve morale, which is what they needed especially at times like this. Eliana huffed out; she shifted on the bedroll to get more comfortable. Speaking of the two devils, they had come up the stairs laughing softly. "How are the two lovebirds~" Eliana jested with them. Takeo noticed how quickly Dempsey's face flushed, Luna however did not seem bothered. "Glad to see you are doing better. Though that bruise will take time to heal." Takeo went to ask where the other two men were when Nikolai stormed in. Everyone stayed silent as they watched the Russian head straight to his cot. He sat down mumbling something in his native tongue. Takeo squinted at him waiting for him to do the right thing and apologize. Yet he decided to set his weapons down to lay down. Of course the Russian had no honor. A sigh made him look back at Eliana, the woman looked at Nikolai sadly. Her eyes almost seemed glassy as if she would burst into tears. He knew that she was a kind hearted soul who tried to keep everyone happy. Yet in this group it seemed almost impossible to keep any sort of peace. Takeo could only hope that this better tomorrow would come sooner.

Richtofen had come back after hunting. It shocked the group when he came in dragging a buck behind him. Luna was the first to quirk her brow before making a comment in German. The man was really trying to puff out his chest to look good in front of Eliana. He had completely bypassed Nikolai to get to her, the only sign he gave to him was a soft growl in his direction. Eliana had stared at the wall the entire time as the sounds of chatter buzzed in her mind. So many thoughts raced through her brain as she tried to piece them together. Should they fight off the boss now? Or wait a bit longer? "Eliana. Eliana! Miene Liebe!" Feeling her shoulder being touched made her jump up in alarm her pupils wide. "Huh? What?" She now noticed that all eyes were on her even Nikolai who still had a perturbed look on his face. "We were wondering if you wished to join us for the final confrontation. Richtofen here wishes for you to stay behind." Takeo was sitting close to Luna who was gnawing on the femur of the deer. Eliana shuffled a bit on the cot, she bit her lip. "I would like to be there. After all we are stronger together." Nikolai suppressed a snort as he turned to face the wall. Luna finished glaring at the man before turning to look at Richtofen. "She will be fine. You cannot keep sheltering her. She is not a child." Richtofen squinted at the Dragoness. "I am not sheltering her. She almost died when she fought that damned Keeper. We almost lost her then!" Eliana sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "I will be fine. I promise. If you want I can stay towards the back. And provide some cover." She could tell by Richtofen's facial expressions he still was not pleased. Well too bad he needed to stop coddling her. She didn't think he would be the overprotective sort. Then again after all he went through she could kind of understand; he did lose his family after all. Also he was trying his best to keep everyone alive. Eliana looked at Takeo with a soft smile. "You ready Tak?" Everyone now looked at the Samurai waiting for a response. He nodded as he sheathed his katana. "Yes. I am ready."

Everyone looked at Takeo with concerned gazes as he stated his response. His allies seemed to care for what was to come next. But what was to come? What horrors would await deeper in the facility? And killing his other self would be no easy task from what they have witnessed. Takeo was snapped out of his thoughts as Dempsey put his hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Tak you alright?" Letting out a deep sigh the Samurai looked at my friend with a soft smile as I nod in silence. Dempsey smirked and looked at the deer that the German had killed for the group. He looked back at Dempsey as he laughed and patted Richtofen on the back. Luna and Eliana walked towards them to see what they could do with the deer. Takeo took this time to step outside to see if he could meditate. Looking around he saw the trees and the landscape outside this horrid place. How the trees singed in a peaceful silence. Removing his weapons from his belt he rested it next to his leg as he sat down and closed his eyes. Listening to the world around me as he felt at peace for a moment. Hearing footsteps along the metal platform as he opened his eyes to see Richtofen standing beside him. “I hope I wasn't disturbing your meditation.” He said calmly, Takeo shook his head nod, and closed his eyes again as the man walked over and rested his hands in the railing. “The others are preparing the food. It seems Dempsey was extremely excited to make dinner." He stopped and looked out to Takeo, seeing him stand up and going to join Richtofen. “Richtofen, I have a question to ask." Takeo said as he looked at him with worried eyes. “And what is it my friend?" Takeo stood there hoping he would know the question he had been longing for. "What was the message that the Emperor sent me?" Richtofen seemed to have forgotten about what he had promised the Samurai. "Takeo I promise that the message from the Emperor will be with you soon…" Richtofen said as sounds of another person enter the outside area. “Hey guys, the food is ready. Dempsey won't shut up about it." Luna said as the men both nodded at this and started heading inside to enjoy themselves before tomorrow.

The crew made there way to the elevator as everything was ready for what was to come. Takeo looked frightened by the unknown of what they'll be facing but Eliana put her hand on his shoulder and gave the Samurai a small smile as Richtofen motioned everyone to get into the elevator. As they went down the group could hear groans and screams of what would be thrashers and the mutated undead. The elevator stopped and everyone got out their weapons and slowly made their way down the dark and unnerving hallway. It was quite as they were half way down the hallway before they heard loud footsteps then a blood curdling scream come from behind them. Dempsey was the first to turn around but was met with a thrashers punch, sending the Marine flying as his back hit a rail guard. Eliana pulled out her Argus and shot the thrasher in its head which came off but it didn't kill the thing. Luna rushed to Dempsey's aid as the group was being pushed back to what looked to be a giant prison area. Takeo started laying down shots with his BRM, crippling the thrasher but in doing so it grabbed Takeo and lifted him up in the air and threw him across the room. In a daze Takeo looked up to see an evil looking monster that was taller then the room itself. He looked into the eyes of the monster and instantly knew who it was. Getting up he looked back at the group seeing that Eliana pulled out her KT-4 and shot the thrasher in its chest which started to disintegrate on its impact. Dempsey got up and looked to where Takeo is but noticed that the monster was about to slam his giant arm where his brother was. thinking on his feet he mantled over the rail guard and ran to push Takeo out of the way. They both fell on the ground as the arm handed on the ground leaving an imprint of where an impacted. Richtofen started firing his ICR to draw the creature’s attention which worked as it's arms started to attack him and Nikolai. Eliana knew how to defeat it and started to shoot at it's yellow splores that covered the grotesque monster. A loud scream of pain could be heard from the thing as zombies started coming from the broken prison cells. Dempsey threw his haymaker to Luna and catched it and with a small smile started taking care of the undead with Dempsey. Takeo, Nikolai, and Richtofen would distract the monster as Eliana fired at the spores sending pain through what she and Takeo knew to be himself. Eliana saw that it only had one more spore on it's right side but couldn't reach it but she knew this needed to end. Everyone but Takeo were focused on the endless hoard of zombies flooding its way towards them. Takeo looked at Eliana and they both nodded as Eliana threw Takeo her KT-4 and started shooting her Argus on the left side of the monster. Takeo slid under it's right arm as he fired the last shot into it's spore. A trembling scream echoed through the whole facility as the creature's arms fell and started to disintegrate as a blinding white light filled the room. Everyone winced in pain as the zombies started to collapse. 

Takeo rubbed his eyes as his vision started to return to normal. He looked at the giant prison cell door and slowly made his way to it and opened it slowly. He walked in to see a person in a cell sitting on the floor. He looked at the person and was about to speak but was cut off by the person. "Your eyes I recognize them, almost as though they were my own." The person looked at Takeo which Takeo looked down and slowly opened the door. “Takeo Masaki, I did not believe I would find you in such a place." Takeo made his way to sit beside the beaten and broken counterpart of himself. A small pause as everyone slowly made their way to see what was about to transpire between the two samurais. Ultimis Takeo looked away in shame as he softly spoke. “I was a warrior, I fought many battles with a glory of our nation. For the honor of the dying samurai spirit. I was a hero" Takeo looked to be in thought for a moment remembering old memories. "I share this same memory. I have lived many of the same victories" Takeo looked back at himself as Ultimis Takeo looked back and then looked away. "I later learned my victories were unwelcome. His betrayal was driven by pretty jealousy. He knew I could endure anything" Ultimis Takeo then stood up and walked to the group giving the German a hated death glaze. "He knew not even I feared my own death." Takeo stood up and walked towards himself in question. confused on who he was talking about. "Punishment is one thing, but this is cruelty, who could be evil as to desire another soul to endure such suffering!" Takeo looked at himself trying to hold back his anger trying to hold his cool but was failing to do so. "Who amongst us could be so dishonorable!" Takeo yelled as his counterpart slowly turned to him. "Are you so blinded by your own loyalty?" Ultimis Takeo looked faced Takeo and looked him in the eyes. "The orders came from the emperor himself." Takeo was stopped dead in his tracks as he couldn't believe what he heard. Takeo whole world was falling apart. everything he has done for the emperor was all for nothing. everything he knew was flipped upside down and he couldn't do anything about it. Was this the message from the emperor Richtofen was talking about? "My life… My Path… was built upon a lie…" Richtofen looked at his Ally and felt such sadness and looked down in anguish. Eliana looked away holding back tears for her friend. Luna looked and studied Richtofen for a moment as she held Dempsey's hand. Nikolai stared at Takeo and His counterpart and looked at his hands thinking of what he would have to do to himself and the horrors that await him. Takeo stood silent for a few seconds but then looked up to Ultimis Takeo. "This realm may have been corrupted and consumed by evil, but we process the power to change things." Takeo walked forward and started on sheathing his katana. Ultimus Takeo looked at himself with a cold expression. "But a better tomorrow is only possible if we blow away the ashes of the past" Takeo spoke as he pulled his katana and gently held it up to Ultimus Takeo. "None of us choose the means by which mercy will find us." Ultimis Takeo slowly moves his hands to accept Takeo's katana. "But I am at peace, I understand what must be down." Ultimis Takeo takes his katana and slowly walks behind the samurai, stopping for a moment Ultimis Takeo looks back at himself. "Will you be my kashakum?" Takeo looks back and turns to himself as he looks at Ultimis Takeo. "It is my honor" Takeo walks over to his Ultimis Takeo katana and picks it up, walking over Ultimis Takeo falls on his knees and positions the katana to his stomach. As Takeo holds his katana up ready to do what needs to be done. Ultimis Takeo breathes slowly and stabs himself in the stomach as Takeo swings his katana, finishing himself off. Takeo stepped back slowly as Eliana walked over and hugged the Samurai. Takeo at first hesitated but embraced his new friend. Richtofen walked over to Ultimis Takeo's body and pulled out the Summoning Key, activating it as it transferred Takeo's soul. Dempsey placed a hand on Takeo's shoulder as He looked at Richtofen then to Nikolai. "I guess it's you next Nik." Dempsey said but was cut off by the doctor. "Nien, there is something I should have done a long time ago. Something we must get." Richtofen stated as he used the Summoning Key to open four portals. He looked back at Eliana who looked to have a horrid expression on her face. Confused he walked to her and placed his hands on hers. "Is everything alright?" he asked as Eliana looked at his eyes. She knew what would happen, she just hoped the cycle wasn't broken. "I'm ok…don't worry ok?" Richtofen looked into her eyes and slowly nodded as he kissed her cheek. "We'll be back in just a moment Ja?" He stated as she could only nod. The four men walked through the portals. Luna walked over to her mother and placed a hand on her shoulder. Both women knew that Alcatraz was literally Hell. But Luna knew that they would come back. This was not that version of the Cycle. The portals opened up again as they walked out, all of them now had their own blood vials. Eliana ran forward and hugged Edward tightly. The man stumbled back as she hugged him tightly, he looked at her with wide eyes before hugging her back. Dempsey looked confused and turned to Luna for an explanation. She just shrugged her shoulders before walking towards them. The portals shut behind them after. “Well. It seems like we have one soul left.” Luna stared at Nikolai who glared back at her. The room now filled with tension. This was going to be a bad trip. And they all knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that Chapter. A big thank you to my co writer, Legion, for writing the boss fight ^^


	19. The City of Blood and Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long forgotten war between two creatures comes to fruition. And choices need to be made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *le gasp* What is this? A surprise chapter. A treat for you all. Since I have been away so long.
> 
> Chapter Warnings
> 
> Blood and Gore

As they jumped into the portal Eliana had braced herself. The feeling of the wind hitting her face made her cringe in pain. They were all free falling from the sky. She felt arms wrap around her waist, the person pulled her close to their chest. She felt Richtofen turn so that his back was facing the ground. The others were all around them. They seemed terrified; Luna was nowhere in sight. "This was part of your plan Richtofen!" Takeo yelled as he flipped through the air. Eliana felt his grip on her tighten. "Not exactly!" He yelled back. Eliana cringed at hearing him yell. "Where is Luna! We need her now!" She screamed. Did Luna get stuck? Dempsey turned to face the still open portal, he stuck two fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Luna came full force out of the portal. She dived down at them quickly. Everyone reached out to grab onto her as she got closer. Eliana and Richtofen held onto Luna's snout. The other three tried to climb up her back. Luna's pupils turned to slits; her ears wiggled. "Let go of me!" She growled out. Everyone was confused at her tone of voice. The sound of something large coming at them made Richtofen turn. His eyes went wide at what he saw. A large Wyvern flew up towards them with ill intent. It's roar was loud and aimed towards Luna. Dempsey was the first to notice a body with a parachute.

They had no choice but to jump off as the Wyvern came closer to them. Eliana looked at Luna in concern. She knew Luna could hold her own, but it still worried her. They fell down towards the body quickly, the Wyvern completely bypassing them. As they gripped the body Eliana cringed internally. She knew that this was Peter McCain. And she knew he was still alive. Nikolai was the first to shout out orders. "Pull the reserve!" Dempsey pulled the pin to unleash the parachute. As it opened they all lurched a bit. Eliana turned her attention towards Luna and the Wyvern. The Wyvern spread his wings back and went to claw at Luna with his legs. Luna however was quicker. Having four legs was better than two after; they collided in the air in a tangle of claws, teeth and wings. The sound they made as their bodies hit each other sounded like thunder. Eliana wanted to cry out as she felt the slight pain of the impact. Richtofen clutched her hand tightly. The two mythical beasts locked onto each other and freely falled down past them quickly. They were now hidden beneath the clouds. 

As they went down past the clouds is when everyone seemed to be more alert. Gunfire was everywhere as well as planes and Wyverns. "What the fuck are those things!?" Dempsey shouted. His eyes kept focused on the clouds below them. "Wyverns! Remember the story Luna told us! Guess these fuckers are here!" Eliana clung tightly onto the body. Her eyes were wide with shock. This would not end well. The group finally landed on the ground. The sound of a mech made the group turn. In front of them stood a medium sized mech and inside said mech was the other Nikolai. The other put his vodka down to stare at the group in front of him. Primis Nikolai stepped forward as they made eye contact. The sound of the mech rebooting it's guns made everyone jump to the side for cover. Richtofen used his body to cover Eliana, the sound of two machine guns going off at the same time made her flinch each time. 

The ground shook as the body of a Wyvern fell. It's throat had been slashed multiple times as well as its chest. Luna stood on top of it covered in blood. She had claw marks on her hind legs and tail. The other Nikolai aimed his guns at her. She roared loudly before jumping on top of the mech. Lifting it into the air she carried it to a nearby building before smashing it into the side. Some debris flew on top of the robot covering it completely. Everyone came out of hiding to stand beside the body of the Wyvern. Eliana rushed to Luna's side as soon as she landed. Nikolai looked distraught. "Great! Now what do we do!? We were meant to secure his soul and now we can't!" Luna shifted her weight as she looked down at her paws. Eliana huffed loudly. "Well it isn't Luna's fault! She was only protecting us! You should be grateful!" Eliana clung onto her daughter's front leg; she made sure to avoid the cut as she pet her. Richtofen walked in the middle of the group. "Instead of fighting we should come up with a plan. Und quickly." The sound of another Wyvern flying by made the group look up. Thankfully it flew away from them. Luna uttered a low growl. "Und first things first. We should find shelter." As the group made their way towards the first building they all kept quiet. Eliana knew that after this they would head over to the House. Where Dr Monty awaited. She just hoped that everything would end well.

They avoided being spotted by any Wyverns as they finally made it to the large building with three stories. Luna had stuck by the group closely, her wounds stung and her blood still dripped down her body. She would need to clean herself off. The others started to head into the building. Luna however stopped at the entrance. Her ears twitched as she thought. Eliana was the first to notice and turned to face her daughter. "Lulu? You alright? Is it your wounds? I know they sting." Luna let out a comforting prum as Eliana hugged onto her left leg. "Ja. I am fine Mutter. I just was thinking. Thinking about the Wyverns." Both of them looked to the sky. Two Wyverns were flying in the distance fighting a couple of planes. Luna knew that they had claimed this area for their nesting grounds. She also knew that the Wyverns would be upset that a Dragon had invaded their sacred territory. Even though they were a cousin species they were vastly different. Dempsey had come out of the building to see what was going on. "Hey. We found a nice spot inside. We should head in before the zombies start coming." Luna didn't say anything. She didn't turn her body around, she turned her neck so that she could see Eliana and Dempsey from her right eye. "I will not be joining you. I need to fight off the Wyverns nearby. They have claimed this land as their nesting grounds. Und they will keep giving you problems if not dealt with. I must claim this area as my own." Eliana's eyes were filled with fear. There were so many Wyverns to begin with! How would Luna claim the land on her own!? Dempsey obviously thought of the same thing as his response matched Eliana's thoughts. "Moonlight...there are so many of those fuckers. How will you do it?" Hearing the nickname he had given her made her scales quiver. She turned her body to face the both of them. "I promise you both. I have a plan to lure them away one at a time. I won't be gone forever. I will come back to check on everyone. I promise to stay safe." Eliana walked towards Luna's snout. She hugged Luna tightly. The Dragoness could smell her Mother's fear scent and could feel her heartbeat against her nose. "Please come back to me. I love you Lulu." Eliana pulled away slowly. Dempsey was the next one to give Luna's snout a hug. "Be safe out there. Kick their ass." He closed his eyes to stop the tears from forming. Pulling away a tiny bit to bend his head down to place a soft kiss on her snout. "Love ya little Moonlight." Luna had a hard time holding back her tears. She didn't wish to cry in front of them. As the two backed away to give her some space for take off she let the tears fall. Thankfully her back was turned to them. Flapping her wings she performed a vertical take off. She needed to do this. She needed to protect her Clan.

Richtofen noticed how Eliana and Dempsey walked in with their heads down. Luna was not behind them. He stood from his spot as they came closer. Eliana hugged him tightly. Her body shook as she sobbed into his vest. "What happened?" He asked. Nikolai gave Dempsey an odd look as the Marine sat on the box next to him. "Where is Luna? I wanted to apologize to her. Did those things attack her again?" Nikolai actually had a concerned look on his face. Takeo kept quiet but he too was worried for Luna. Dempsey spoke up since Eliana was too choked up. "She went to fight off some of the Wyverns. She said she needs to claim this territory as her own. If she doesn't the Wyverns will keep trying to fry us." He finished with a sigh and ran his hands through his hair. It seems Eliana wasn't the only one who was stressed. Takeo cleared his throat before speaking. "What she is doing is honourable. She is a strong warrior. I believe she will succeed." Everyone agreed with his words. They all knew Luna would be able to prevail. Richtofen rubbed his hand up and down Eliana's back, the woman was now calming down. Her body stopped shaking at least. "We should find a better place to make our camp. There is a hole in the roof here. Also there are no rations here." Nikolai took charge of the still distraught group. For once Richtofen didn't complain. He had to keep Eliana comfortable. They moved deeper into the building before they found a nice spot towards the back. Dempsey was the first to find pieces of wood to make a small fire, whilst Takeo boarded up the nearby window; they didn't want any zombie sneaking up on them. Eliana let out a groan. She forgot that Luna had hid her duffle bag in a pocket dimension to keep it safe. And now that Luna was gone she could not get it. Nikolai noticed her look of annoyance. "What's wrong?" Eliana huffed loudly before sitting down on a box. "Luna is the only one that can open portals. She left my bag in a pocket dimension." Without her bag she was weaponless. She would need to grab guns as they went. The sound of roaring overhead made them look up. It seemed as if some of the Wyverns caught wind of Luna being there. Eliana just prayed that Luna knew what she was doing. They all settled down for the night, Richtofen curled up close to Eliana. Thankfully it was warm enough that they didn't need to keep track of the fire. As Eliana closed her eyes the sound of angry roaring in the distance was the last thing she heard.

Luna growled loudly at the Wyvern in front of her. The creature had followed her to the same area where Ultimis Nikolai was in the Robot. The other female had let out a roar of pain and agony at seeing the body of her mate. Luna knew that this Wyvern would fight twice as hard to try and avenge her fallen mate. She rushed forward making the earth shake beneath her weight. Luna's ears pricked back, her eyes were slits and a low thrum resounded from her throat. She unleashed a torrent of flame onto the Wyvern making it halt for a split second. Using the distraction she pounced on to her back. Her teeth gripped the back of her neck in a vice grip. The Wyvern roared loudly and shook around trying to dislodge the larger reptile from her back. The creature finally had some sense to roll on one side making Luna tumble off. Fresh blood dripped down in thick puddles beneath the Wyvern's neck. Luna's teeth were covered in fresh blood as well as bits of flesh and scale from the other. Using her tongue she licked some of the blood off her teeth. "You do not belong here Dragon! These grounds are Wyvern grounds! You have no Clan! You have no need for these grounds!" It had been ages since Luna had spoken with a Wyvern. Their language was unlike a Dragon's. As they could only speak in growls and other noises. Dragon's on the other hand were capable of learning human language and speaking their own language that used words. "That is where you are wrong foolish Hatchling! I have a Clan I must protect! As the Eldest I must protect the Patriarch and Matriarch!" Luna's scales raised up to make herself appear bigger in size. The Wyvern was smaller than her but she wished to get her point across. The Wyvern snorted out a puff of smoke from her nostrils. "You shall all be driven out! Mark my words Dragon! My Clan Mother will hear about this! You and your mortals will burn to ash!" Instead of rushing towards Luna she turned and took off into the night sky. Most likely to lick her wounds. Luna's scales went back down, her pupils remained slits as she watched her fly away. Her Clan? Did she now see the group as such? Or was it her instincts kicking in? She shook her head before walking towards the center of the large area. The body of the Wyvern she killed earlier was still there, its body was still warm and not yet stiff. Licking her lips she bent her head down and took a large bite from his neck. She would dwell on that thought later. Right now she needed to rest and prepare for the Wyvern Clan. As well as prepare for the final fight against Ultimis Nikolai. She knew he would not go down without a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this surprise chapter. Gorod Krovi willtake the longest to write. As it will tie in a lot of loose ends.


	20. Forged in Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crew starts to get use to this new and dangerous territory. Luna continues to fight for her Clan. And what she discovers changes the way things will play out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long hiatus guys. Been dealing with some personal issues as well as having major writers block. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. 
> 
> Chapter Warnings  
> Blood  
> Gore  
> Violence  
> Graphic Descriptions of Body Gore

Everyone woke up sore and groggy. The group kept waking up throughout the night by the sounds of wings flapping overhead and the Wyverns roaring. Eliana had worried all night about Luna. She had used telepathy to talk with her but only got short responses back. At least she was ok. That is what mattered. Nikolai was the second one to rise from his slumber. He stretched out. His back made a loud popping sound. Eliana turned to him. "Morning." Her voice was still raspy from sleep. “Morning. Did Luna come back last night?” She looked at the floor with a sigh. “No. But I sensed that she stayed close by. Hearing all that roaring last night had me worried for her.” Nikolai could sense that Eliana was deeply worried for her daughter. But as of now they all could do nothing about the situation. Instead they needed to secure the other Nikolai’s soul; before those Wyverns killed him. As the others rose from their slumber Eliana had formulated a checklist in her mind of what they should get done today. She didn’t want to over work the men as they were still all exhausted from their time on the Island. That final fight had worn them out. Both physically and mentally. Especially Takeo. When everyone was awake she cleared her throat to get their attention. “Ok. So with Luna taking care of the Wyverns all we have to worry about is the zombies.” She did not want to mention the drones and the armored zombie with a sickle. Not yet anyway. “As usually we need the power on. Once we get that on we need to get three network circuits. Red, Yellow and Blue. After that I can see if Luna will be able to fly us over to the Pack A Punch machine. Once inside we will need to power the generator. There is more to be done but we are all tired. And I don’t want us fainting from exhaustion.” Everyone seemed to agree with what she was saying. They could use a little down time. Nikolai however seemed upset. “How come for the other two you seemed to rush us through the steps? Is securing my soul not as important? What are you playing at?” Richtofen went to speak to defend her, but stayed silent when she lifted her hand up to silence him. “I was foolish for having us do everything at once back then. I learned from that mistake. Hell we all did. I got hurt on one too many occasions. We never really had time to sleep and when we did we were still in fight or flight mode making our sleep disturbed. We lacked focus at times too. Everyone’s soul is important. Trust me.” That did not seem to answer all of his questions. He planned on speaking with her later. But for now he would follow her rules. He watched as Richtofen led Eliana out of the room; they spoke softly to one another. Whether it was about this so-called mission or words of endearment towards the other he did not care. Dempsey came up behind him, he placed a hand on his shoulder. “Everything will be fine Nikolai. I trust Eliana and Luna. Richtofen not so much. At least Eliana and Luna are open about everything.” Nikolai huffed in anger. “You only trust them because they are women. You are biased. I saw how you acted with Eliana before Richtofen courted her. And I see how you and Luna act around each other when we camp.” Dempsey had a faint blush tint his cheeks at the mention of Luna. Nikolai was not blind nor was he stupid. He had noticed how Dempsey and Luna would sit close to one another and talk in whispers. Laughing and sharing stories. Takeo spoke up from his scouting spot. “The spirits are still at ease with both of them. If they wished to harm us. Do you not think they would have done so already?” What Takeo said was true. Eliana could easily have Luna burn all of them to a crisp. Or even have the Dragoness eat them alive. But yet they risked their lives for the entire group. Even Eliana had risked death to save Nikolai from that Corrupted Keeper at the Castle. Speaking of the Castle. Nikolai remembered how he followed Eliana down to the Undercroft. He saw her place the instructions for the bows on the tables. The fact that she had waited until they were asleep that night made him ponder. What was she hiding from them? Had she really read the Kronorium? Or was she doing this all for her own personal gain? Whatever it was. Nikolai wanted to get to the bottom of it. Even if it meant he needed to do so alone. 

Turning on the power was simple enough. Not many zombies had spawned in making their task easy. The only thing that bothered the crew. "Why is it so fucking hot!? This is bullshit!" Eliana was already sweating from all the running around. It didn't help that the Wyverns had lit fires almost everywhere. Dempsey walked past her laughing. "Why not roll in one of the puddles then? That should cool you off." Eliana glared at his back. The heat had put her into bitch mode. "Why don't you jump in first. Tell me how the water feels." Dempsey turned to stick his tongue out at her. She stuck hers out in return. Richtofen rolled his eyes. "Bitte. Can you two act your age? We need to remain focused." Both of them exchanged looks before continuing their playful banter. Richtofen pinched the bridge of his nose, he loved Eliana dearly but sometimes she could be too much. He looked up to see a Wyvern fly by; the creature seemed pissed. It most likely was heading for Luna who was still gone from the area. They made it to the main building where the power was located. So far they had not run into any zombies which was shocking. Eliana practically flew up the steps to get inside. Dempsey trailed after her; Nikolai, Takeo and Richtofen stayed outside surveying the area. The only sounds they heard were flames blazing and distant roaring. "Holy fuck. Well hi Sophia!" Richtofen's ears perked up. How did Eliana know Sophia? He walked inside to see a large machine with a round robot inside. Said robot had a singular red eye that scanned the room. "You are not Dr. Maxis." She spoke. The woman sounded so confused and maybe even hurt. Dempsey's eyes were almost comically wide as he scanned the robot. The robot scanned the group carefully, the sounds of the machine beeping was the only thing that kept the room from being silent. "Sophia? Is that really you?" The robot turned to face Richtofen quickly; Eliana stood behind him. Her eyes stared up as they were both scanned. "Dr. Richtofen? Where is Dr. Maxis? And who are they?" Everyone stared up as the robot seemed to try to scan them for information. "Ja. It is me Sophia. Und these are my colleagues. Dr. Maxis ist safe I assure you." There was soft mechanical hiss as she seemed to shut down. Eliana tilted her head. "Well that was a really short conversation? Do you think she short circuited?" She walked towards the panel to inspect it further. Richtofen shook his head. "Nein. I believe she may have just been shocked to see me." Seeing how everyone else seemed so occupied with the A.I. Takeo decided to walk to the power switch and flick it on. The machines hummed to life all around them. And finally the sounds of the undead filled the room. Eliana groaned loudly. The men took their MR6's off their belts or from out of their holsters and prepared for the zombies. Eliana meanwhile stood close to the machine still looking around with wide eyes. "Uh guys? Did you forget I have no weapons? Luna kinda has them all." Edward kept his hands on his pistol as he moved to stand in front of Eliana. "Takeo. Dempsey. Stay here und keep the area secure. Nikolai you will come with me to provide Eliana protection." Nikolai lifted an eyebrow in confusion at the duo before walking out of the building with them. The sounds of both zombies and Wyverns roaring filled the air. Oh yeah. This was going to be Hell.

Her feet hurt as she kept pushing ahead of the two men. Richtofen was right behind her whilst Nikolai took up the far rear. She snorted softly, she still was upset at Nikolai. The man did knock her out after all. A thought had just occurred to the young woman when they came to the Supply Depot. Nikolai was acting differently than his in game counterpart? Very differently. He seemed more hostile than what Eliana thought. Mind you in the game he had been distrusting of Richtofen but this. The fact that he resorted to physical violence made everything feel off. A gun firing right next to her ear made her flinch and back up. She bumped right into Richtofen and watched as he shot a zombie in the head. Eliana's eyes were wide, she felt her lover huff behind her making her turn to face him. She chuckled nervously as he glared down at her. "Please pay attention. You can't keep having your head in the clouds all the time mein liebe." Nikolai had caught up with them; he seemed to be panting heavily and the barrel of his MR6 was still smoking a bit. "Lots of Hellpigs out there. I think I saw Luna fly overhead. She was following a Wyvern." The entire roof shook as the Wyvern landed on top of the building. Eliana froze as she looked at the reptile with wide eyes, Richtofen gripped her arm tightly and Nikolai trained his MR6 at the creature's head. Not like it would do much but it was the thought that counted. Hearing a hiss come from the large reptile made them all tense up, Eliana couldn't tell if it was trying to speak or if it was charging up to breathe its molten fire over the trio. The Wyvern lurched forward and roared out in pain. Luna had come just in time. The larger Dragoness was on his back and gripped at the joint where his wing met his body. She yanked hard making blood spray out everywhere. Her pupils were slits and her eyes were now fully blue. The element had been coursing through her as she fought. Richtofen motioned for Nikolai to lead as he dragged Eliana with them. She kept her eyes on the fight as Luna had forced the Wyvern to turn and face her fully. The last thing she saw before they disappeared into another part of the building was the Wyvern going straight for Luna's exposed neck. 

Luna had followed after one of the Wyverns closely. She had injured his tail to a point where the bone was jutting out. His tail fin had been ripped clean off by her fangs, she licked them clean as she pursued the youngling. He had dared to challenge her when she woke up. Foolish hatchling would soon know that would be his first and last mistake. She got closer to the tail and nipped at it. Even though she missed he flinched and kept flying forward. They soared overhead the power building, the sounds of gunfire had made her ears twitch. She couldn't stop to look now. The yearling landed on top of the Supply Depot building with a thud. He was bleeding heavily from the end of his tail now, the Wyvern leaned his head and neck into the building. "Please! You must save me!" He hissed out to whoever was in the building. Her eyes gazed down into the hole and she noticed her mother staring at him like a deer in the headlights. Both Richtofen and Nikolai were with her. Luna let out a short roar before descending down onto the Wyvern's back. He lurched forward making more of the roof crumble under their combined weight. A roar escaped him as she dug her fangs into his shoulder and yanked hard, dislodging the tendons and muscles. He turned his neck around with his mouth wide open; he launched himself forward towards her open throat. She dodged back only getting nipped by his fangs. Her body shook as the Element raced through her bloodstream. She could feel it wanting to come out. And that it did. Luna breathed the Element right as the yearling opened his maw again. The beam went right down his throat making his throat explode as it shot through him. His head fell off the roof and down into the building, his body now limp under Luna's talons. Smoke came out from her nostrils and her mouth as she took in deep breaths. She couldn't use the Element too much. After all her Clan needed her. And she needed them. The sounds of the undead reached her ears, they were now swarming the building. Clawing her way down into the building she faced the small horde and used her claws to slice them down. Her ears twitched as she heard the trio run back to her, they stopped at the Wyvern's decapitated head which blocked their way. Luna turned on her paws quickly to help them out as zombies were now starting to pour in from both sides: it seemed they had found guns. Eliana took down zombies wielding a Vesper. It wasn't her gun of choice but she could manage for now. She moved the head out of the way before standing over them; her wings were spread up in the air and her tail was raised. Taking a deep breath she unleashed a torrent of flames onto the zombies in front of them: whilst they dealt with the undead coming up on her flank. After the zombies stopped coming in is when she turned to look down at them. They all were breathing heavily, Nikolai had blood on his cheek; thankfully it wasn't his. Takeo and Dempsey had run into the building, both men had obtained new guns. Luna bent her neck down just as Dempsey came running up to her to hug her neck tightly. A soft prum left her throat. Someone clears their throat making her ear's perk. Her mother watched the two with a smirk before speaking. "Since we are all present I suggest we get started. We will need Luna's help for this part after all." Luna looked at all of them with wide eyes. She had a funny feeling this involved some flying.

He was not too pleased with this idea. Not one bit. Flying around whilst missiles were being shot all around? This was suicidal. The others were all climbing onto Luna's back, as always Eliana sat up front with Richtofen right behind her. Nikolai sighed as he saw the faint bruise on her jaw. He acted out of anger that day and it ended up with Eliana getting hurt. As he climbed silently up Luna's leg he thought of ways he could apologize. Mind you he still didn't trust the two. Hell he didn't even trust Richtofen. Sitting behind Takeo he wondered what the Samurai thought of the whole situation. He had said in the past he trusted Eliana and Luna. But after what happened at that Island: did he still trust the two? Luna walked into the large colosseum that was in the same building where the power was. She looked towards the sky with her wings spread open. Everyone braced as she took off straight into the sky. Everyone kept their heads down low as rockets were being fired towards Luna. Luckily for them she was quick in the sky and could easily dodge the rockets so long as she kept her focus up. She landed on top of a building a bit away from the main square, bending her neck down she allowed them all to jump down. Nikolai was the last to hop off of her landing on the wood floor with an unsteady balance. He observed his teammates as they looked around the small building; of course Eliana and Richtofen wandered off together. The Russian rolled his eyes as he stayed by Dempsey and Takeo. He knew he couldn't really talk with them when it came to Eliana. Both men seemed to be on her side. Nikolai wanted to trust them. He really wanted to. But the man couldn't help that small pit in his stomach, the same pit that warned him they would both be dangerous beings. The three men jumped up high as barricades came down on the windows quickly. An alarm sounded in the building making them prepare their weapons. The couple came running back in with wide eyes. "So Mr. Know It All here touched the defense security button. And now we are stuck here until the system decides that everything is safe." Richtofen looked a tad bit embarrassed at being called out for his mistake. "How long will that be? Will there be more Hellpigs?" His eyes landed on Eliana for he knew she might be able to answer the question. She always seemed to have answers for every little thing they did. "Yes to the zombies and honestly I have no clue how long this will last. Hopefully not too long. This place is too small." Takeo was leaning out of sight next to one of the barricaded windows, the barrel of his FFAR was pointed down at the ground. "I see the demons rising up to challenge us. We should be quick." Dempsey stood next to Takeo to help cover the right side of the ground where zombies were already starting to spawn. Richtofen took place on top of the stairs, he trained his M8A7 down the steps in case any decided to sneak up from behind. Nikolai motioned for Eliana to follow him to the room where she and Richtofen had gone when they first arrived. Both took aim out the windows as well making sure they kept their focus on any zombies that would emerge. They came quickly on the group; the sounds of gunfire seemed to echo in the building. As Eliana reloaded her Vesper the Russian decided now would be the only time they might ever be somewhat alone. He went closer to Eliana as he helped her gun down a small horde of twenty zombies. "I have questions. Questions you need to answer." He saw that out of his peripheral vision she flinched: the bruise that he had left on her jaw was still visible but only barely. "Really? You are going to ask me things right now? Can't it wait until after this shit show? I promise we can head over to the Supply Depot and you can bombard me with questions." She shot the head off of a zombie that came way too close for comfort. Nikolai gripped his gun a bit tighter. "Fine. But no excuses. When we get back we are having that talk. And Richtofen can stay with the others." Yet again Eliana seemed to tense up. He knew the two were inseparable but he needed to confront her alone. "You got to be fucking kidding me!" Hearing Dempsey yell from the other room had Eliana bolting over to him. Nikolai ran after her to see what the commotion was. Everyone looked out the window in shock as they finally saw what Dempsey did. It was an armoured zombie wielding a sickle in its left hand and it's right arm seemed to be replaced by a large cannon. This would make things a lot more complicated.

It didn't take long for the armored zombie to fall. The combined gun power from all five of them made it fall a lot faster. Shooting the helmet off made things easier as a couple of shots to the head killed it quickly. After they had killed it the barricades raised up from the windows signalling the lockdown was over. Richtofen watched as everyone started to make their way down the stairs, he stayed behind in case zombies were still coming. He noticed how Nikolai and Eliana seemed to be avoiding each other almost entirely now. He would need to ask her what was going on later. But for now he needed to grab something. When he saw Eliana disappear down the stairs is when he walked to the other room. The control band was ready for use. Placing it on his wrist he made sure everything was working. He knew that in order to get the control band he needed to initiate the lockdown. He just hoped Luna would not mind him using one of the mind controlled Wyverns when she wasn't near. Richtofen finally made his way down the stairs making sure the band stayed tight around his wrist. Eliana was kneeling down looking at something on the ground. She let out a sigh. "Even though I do not care for how the Wyverns act. It still hurts me seeing broken eggs." Richtofen now noticed the others were no longer there. When did Luna come back to pick them up? And why didn't she wait? "Where are the others? Did Luna come?" Eliana stood up from kneeling and wiped her hands on her pants. "No. Luna is coming in a bit. The other three were too impatient I guess. They uh took that sewer pipe back." Her nose wrinkled up, they would most definitely need showers when they got back. He wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her close to him. It was not often that they had time to be alone together. His hands came up to rub her back gently, he nuzzled his face in her hair and inhaled. Her face was pressed up against his chest so she could hear the steady thrum of his heartbeat. "I am so tired Edward. Everything aches. Mentally, Physically and Emotionally. Hell even my morale is going down...after Takeo had to kill his other self I have been having awful nightmares." Richtofen kept brushing her hair. "Why haven't you told me before? If you ever wake up from a nightmare you can wake me up too. I will always be here for you Blume." She let out a soft sigh and wrapped her arms around his waist nuzzling him more. "What does that even mean? Blume?" She tried her best to pronounce it but when she tried to say it sounded more like she was saying Bloom. "It means Flower. You are like a beautiful flower my love. A rose. Delicate und soft. Yet you have your thorns." The sound of wings beating overhead made him look towards the whole in the building just above the sewer opening. Luna landed down with some difficulty and stuck her neck inside. "Alright you two love birds. Time to go now. The others are waiting." He let go of her as they headed towards Luna. Eliana stepped on first having him sit behind her. They hung on as they headed towards the main power building. Whilst they were getting there he decided to fiddle with the Wyvern Control Band. There were no real instructions so he hoped that he could operate it right. It made a soft beeping noise before an automated voice sounded from the small speaker "Target acquired." Eliana turned a bit as she heard the voice. "Edward? What was that?" He licked his lips as he tried to cancel the command. "It was nothing my love. Just trying to figure out this damn thing." The sound of a roar made their eyes widen. That roar did not come from Luna. But instead it came from behind them, both of them turned a bit to look behind for the source. A large female Wyvern was following after them. She was a red in color with bright green eyes; a large metal collar was around her neck with a glowing green light indicating she was being mind controlled. Richtofen kept jamming the cancel button but to no avail as the Wyvern kept getting closer. He grabbed onto Eliana's waist at the last minute as Luna did a quick turn in the air. What was she doing!? Did she forget she had passengers on her back!? The Dragoness roared in challenge at the other female. Her scales were raised slightly. "Edward! Cancel the command! Hurry!" Luna flew towards the other with ill intent. "I am trying! It won't work!" Both of them braced as the two reptiles finally collided in the air. Eliana let out a scream as she ducked her face closer to Luna's neck. Richtofen leaned over her using his body to shield her just in case. Flying on Luna was one thing but flying on her and having her fight was another. She grabbed the Wyvern's throat in her jaws and shook her head from side to side ripping off some flesh as she tore in. The Wyvern screeched in pain before clawing at Luna's underbelly, she let go roaring in pain. The Wyvern turned and started to flee; Luna did not want to give up and flew after her. "Luna! Stop! You are injured! We need to land!" Eliana's cries fell on deaf ears as she kept flying faster after the smaller female. Both of them landed on the ground hard, Richtofen and Eliana jolted forward a bit. Luna and the Wyvern made growling and grunting sounds at each other making Richtofen tilt his head. "What ist happening?" He whispered as to not draw attention. Eliana shrugged as she kept her eyes trained on the Wyvern. "I don't know. I think Luna is speaking to her. Quick. Let's slide down her back before another fight breaks out." He helped Eliana slide down to Luna's tail: once they got on the ground the duo ran to cover behind a pile of debris. Richtofen held Eliana close to him as the two started fighting once again. Roars, growls and snarls sounded in the air. Eliana tried to block the sounds out to no avail. A loud thud was heard and then silence. Richtofen peeked over first while still holding onto Eliana. Luna stood in the center of the makeshift arena panting heavily. Blood, both her own and the Wyvern's, dripped down her body. The mind controlled reptile laid dead in front of her paws. Helping Eliana up they both ran to Luna to check on her. "I...I don't know what came over me...Seeing that collar on her. It just made me lose control…" Her voice came out rapsy. Most likely due to all the roaring and fire breathing. Eliana motioned for Luna to bend her head down. When she did she hugged her snout close to her chest and cried. "I am just glad you are safe." Richtofen let the two comfort the other as he walked around the body. Her jaw had been severed and her larynx had been torn clean out. He grimaced at the sight before his eyes saw something else. He walked over to a small hole in the ground; his eyes went wide at the sight. "I think you two might want to see this." Eliana made it to his side first and gasped at what he had found. Luna limped over behind them with a neutral expression. Her face fell as she took in the sight too. "It all makes sense now. Why she fought so hard. She said that if she didn't the humans would hurt her precious ones...meine gott...What have I done." In the hole laid four Wyvern eggs waiting to hatch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is about to be some baby Wyverns incoming guys lol.


	21. Update!

Howdy everyone Luna here with some updates as to this fanfic. I have been having major writer's block and I also have been working more and more as of late. I am currently quarantining however so I might get a new chapter out at some point. I have been writing this story now in bits and pieces as I go. Lately I have been jumping around to finishing up the Gorod Chapters. As well as somewhat typing a rough draft for the Great War chapters and even some bits of Alpha Omega. I will also be adding a new chapter to my other story which will go deeper into Luna's origins. That atory will be short and only ten to fifteen chapters long. I hope you are all staying safe during these crazy times. If you want more updates on the fanfic or even wish to see sneak peaks of upcoming chapters I have a Discord Server that I use for my YouTube channel primarily but I will be posting updates on my fanfic on there now. 

Post in the comments down below if you would like to join the server. Stay safe out there my Hatchings. ❤


	22. A Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna bring back the eggs and Richtofen contemplates on some things. 
> 
> Chapter Warnings  
> Mentions of Injury  
> Open wounds (If you squint tbh)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the chapter being so short. But I promise you there is a reason to my madness. Certain chapters will be longet as they will be more focused on the actual plot.

When they came back the group was shocked. Luna as well as Eliana were carrying eggs; Luna had three in her paws whilst her mother held onto the fourth one tightly. Dempsey ran over to help take the eggs from Luna's paws as she started to land. Nikolai watched as even Takeo helped them. The Samurai held onto the second largest egg in his arms, he made soft grunts as he carried it back up the stairs. With a sigh he went down to help them out. The egg was warm to touch and very heavy, it seemed as if he had taken the third largest egg from the group. He placed the egg down next to Takeo's. The Samurai was looking over his egg as if he expected it to just burst open. Eliana struggled to carry the smallest egg into the building but denied help from Richtofen, she set her egg down close to Dempsey's before letting out a huff. "Well. Things just got interesting real quick." Her hands were placed on her hips as her eyes gazed at the eggs. "Where did you find the eggs? Did Luna lay them?" Nikolai asked as said dragoness came limping into the building with new cuts. She chuckled deep and low. "Nein. Not mine. But a Wyverns. I didn't know she was telling the truth." The ground shook as she laid down on the cool floor. Dempsey ran to her side and rubbed her snout whispering to her. Takeo knelt down by the eggs. "Are they alive? Do you wish to hatch them?" His hand brushed up against one of the egg's shell. Richtofen was the one to answer. "Ja. I believe they will be useful. After all we cannot always rely on Luna." Richtofen was trying his best to tend to Luna's wounds; she quivered each time he touched her. "And how do we go about raising baby reptiles? How will these little things help us? Are they not born frail and weak." Nikolai had crouched besides Takeo, he kept the eggs in his peripheral vision whilst he looked towards Eliana. It seemed like she had all the answers lately. More so than Richtofen. "Shockingly no. Both Dragons and Wyverns are born with the ability to breath fire. Mind you they have a harder time controlling it but they can do it. The only issue would be their scales being too soft. But I am sure they will avoid the zombies. They will hide when they know they cannot win." Everyone remained silent after they decided to settle for a quick break; Luna's hissing and groans of pain as Richtofen tended her wounds were the only sounds in the building. A hand on Nikolai's shoulder made him jump as he turned towards the source. Eliana stood behind him with a small smile on her face. "Come on. You wanted to talk. Let's go somewhere private. Away from anyone who might want to eavesdrop." She headed down the steps walking slowly. He followed close behind her. He could feel someone watching them as they made their way into the Supply Depot. He just hoped he would get some answers.

Richtofen took some gauze that he had found in the Medicine Bay and kept cleaning Luna's wounds. She would tense up each time the gauze came to her injuries. It had been ten minutes since Nikolai and Eliana headed to the Supply Depot. He wondered why they were headed there. Or even why they went together in the first place. Luna's growl made him stop and look at her; her snout was close to his face. "Be gentle Richtofen. You are pushing too hard." She started to lick some of the wounds he did not get. He let out a sigh before moving towards her hind leg to clean it up. Dempsey and Takeo had been collecting whatever firewood they could: they set it up close to the eggs to keep them warm. Thinking about raising a baby Wyvern made him excited but he only showed his excitement on the inside. To raise a flying reptile would be amazing. How big would they get? Would they grow to Luna's size quickly? Would they be able to speak like Luna? The Dragoness that he was helping let out another growl. "Alright. Stop. Something is clearly on your mind. You keep fucking up my wounds even more." She curled her tail around him forcing him close to her body. He shifted uncomfortably at being practically dragged to her stomach. "Just thinking about the eggs. As well as Eliana. Her und Nikolai have not been back in awhile." His gaze went towards the Supply Depot where they most likely still were. Luna's ear twitched as she followed his gaze. "She ist fine. Nikolai had questions that only she could answer. Now." She nudged him away from her stomach with her snout. "Go help the other two. I can like my own wounds." There was a slight smile on her face as she started to clean her wounds again. Standing up he made his way to Takeo and Dempsey. By now they had set up a small campfire by the eggs. Both men were sitting across from one another. Dempsey was leaning on the egg he had brought in, a small smile was forming on his face. Takeo looked up at Richtofen, finally acknowledging him. "Good evening Richtofen. Are you finished taking care of Luna?" He nodded. "Ja. She will be fine. As you can see she prefers to lick her own wounds anyway." Dempsey went to speak before the sounds of footsteps made the four of them turn. Nikolai and Eliana were back. The Russian had a calm look on his face whilst Eliana seemed stoic. Nikolai settled down with the group while Eliana made her way towards Luna. Richtofen's brow quirked up in confusion. What had happened between the two of them? Was she alright? Leaving the three to chat amongst themselves he made his way back over to Luna. Both of them were talking to each other in hushed whispers. "How are you doing Lulu? Cuts feeling any better?" "Ja. I feel fine now. No thanks to your mate. Who has a horrible bedside manner." Luna smirked at Richtofen as he came up behind Eliana. He rolled his eyes at her. "Well I am not the one picking random fights with everything that flies in mein eyesight." Luna feigned a gasp before sticking the tip of her forked tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out too. Eliana laughed, a small wheeze followed. "Alright kids. Settle down. Luna why don't you join the others and light a fire. Also can you keep the eggs warm for now? At least until we know what to do?" Luna grumbled in protest as she stood but went to do as her mother said. Eliana turned to face Richtofen finally. She looked absolutely exhausted. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his body. Het hands came up to his chest as she nuzzled her face near his neck. His chin rested on top of her head; he closed his eyes as he let the peace take over. It was interrupted however by none other than Dempsey. "Hey! You two! Quit being antisocial and join the party! Takeo is telling us about his training as a Samurai!" Eliana pushed herself off from a bit to meet his eyes. A smile graced her features. "He is right. Let's join the others." He reluctantly let her go as she went towards the others. She sat by Takeo as Luna finally started the fire. Richtofen finally made it to the others right as Takeo started to tell them about his life in Japan. He settled down behind Eliana and pulled her onto his lap, she squealed in delight and cuddled close to him. A rare smile made its way onto his face as he heard everyone laugh at some embarrassing parts of Takeo's life story. Closing his eyes he let the sounds of their laughter comfort him. All of them together were starting to feel like a family. A family he had always dreamed of having. He just hoped this family would stay together. No matter what was in store for them. 

Everyone had fallen asleep after Nikolai decided to share his life story to the group. The fire was still crackling dimly making that part of the building still seem lighter. The rest of the area was pitch black making it eerie all around. Luna's head laid on her paws and her ears twitched on occasion. The Wyvern eggs were curled up close to her body. She kept her promise on keeping them warm and secure. After all she felt she owed it to the Wyvern she had murdered. A shudder ripples through her body making her scales stand up on end. She shook those thoughts away as she kept her gaze focused on her mother snuggled up close with Richtofen. The two of them couldn't seem to keep away from the other all night. What was this stage of the relationship called in humans? Ah yes. The honeymoon stage. She snorted softly, a small puff of smoke escaping her nose. She closed her eyes letting the sight of her mother snuggling with him escape her vision. She dreamt again that night. But instead of nightmares due to her PTSD it was instead more visions of what was to come. She saw a small child wobbling haphazardly on two short legs. The babe was babbling nonsense as he made his way towards Luna. She bent her head down to sniff at him. He giggled loudly as she sniffed at him. He leaned forward clinging onto her snout gurgling the whole time. She had to cross her eyes just to see him. She smiled a bit as the baby's blue eyes met her green ones. She could not wait to meet this little hatchling. He would be a blessing to them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And I hope everyone is doing fine in these rough times ^^   
> Also who is this child Luna keeps seeing 👀 Makes you wonder a tad bit.


	23. Rings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew finishes up the steps that they can do. A proposal is made and the babies hatch. And oh yeah Eliana gets threatened by the Duck himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long guys. But I wanted to make this chapter extra long for a reason. Believe me when I say that the next chapter will be fun to read 👀
> 
> Chapter Warnings
> 
> Mentions of burning zombies  
> Verbal Fighting  
> Monty chokes someone (AKA A Duck chokes someone)

When the crew had woke up they were immediately bombarded by a horde of zombies. Takeo was the first one to spring into action using his katana to slice through the oncoming horde. Luna had placed her body protectively over the eggs, her pupils were slits and a low hiss came from deep within her chest. Dempsey and Nikolai stood close to her raining bullets into the zombies. Richtofen,Eliana and Takeo had gone towards the entrance of the building making sure none even got inside. A roar made the trio duck back inside the building; a small male Wyvern flew by breathing fire onto the undead before flying off. Both women knew that the young male was only doing it on behalf of his Clan Mother, whether or not he scented Luna was unknown. Everyone was panting heavily as the last of the zombies burnt to a crisp. The smell of burnt flesh reached the group quickly making everyone but Luna gag. "Why do flying reptiles have the urge to burn everything?" Nikolai asked as he waved his hand in front of his face. Luna spread her wings and flapped them to waft the smell away from them. The men gathered up their weapons, checking the ammo count before they needed to head out. Richtofen walked over to Luna with a sense of purpose. She bent her head down to his level and snorted. "Luna. I wish to talk with you. Alone if possible. There are some questions I need you to answer." The Dragoness was so tempted to tell the man before her to fuck right off. His bright blue eyes seemed to stare into her soul. With a twitch of her left ear she snorted again. "Why must we discuss it alone. Secrets do not make friends Richtofen." She growled out. Thankfully the others, including Eliana, were all occupied by the Sophia AI. Dempsey was trying his damned hardest to get the AI to turn back on whilst Nikolai and Takeo spoke to Eliana. Their conversation could not be heard. " Richtofen crossed his arms and challenged her glare with his own. "Ja. Und you are keeping secrets. Eliana said she would explain why you can breathe the Element. But everytime I ask her she changes the subject." He tapped his foot in annoyance. Was he being hypocritical right at this very moment? Yes. After all he has secrets that he does plan on sharing to anyone in the group including Eliana. Luna growled softly making him flinch a bit. "Fine. But we will be quick about it. The eggs need to be kept warm. Also we should let the others know. It is best to not leave them wondering." After Richtofen told Eliana where he and Luna were headed he clambered on Luna's back. She twitched as his hands grazed over her scales. The dragoness walked out of the building squinting at the sunlight filtering through the clouds. She spread her wings before taking off into the skies. She could feel Richtofen leaning forward as the wind whipped around them. Finally she got to a good altitude before steadily flapping in the winds. "Alright. Ask away. Use your thoughts. Telepathy is more secure. Und I have blocked Eliana from hearing our thoughts." He shifted a bit uncomfortable on her. This was all new territory for him. Even as he sat on her back overlooking the sky it still felt off. As if none of this was real. He cleared his throat out of habit. "How can you breathe the Element? Can all drachens breathe it? If not then why you." He felt her tense underneath him. Her pupils turned to slits as memories flashed through her mind. Memories of the factory and of the man that tormented her. His eyes flashed through her mind as well as his maniacal laughter; her blood staining his black gloved hands. "Luna?" His voice cut through her mental barrier quickly making her quiver. "I was experimented on by Group 935. They wanted to use the Element to control me. Make me their slave. But instead it turned me into a weapon. A weapon they planned on using against their enemies...but I turned around und used it upon them. I escaped that damned factory. I made them pay. All but one. That story is for another day." Her eyes watered as she felt the old aches of the experiments on her body. The scar across her right eye tingled a bit. Richtofen said nothing for a bit; instead he tried to comfort her by stroking her scales. "What they did to you was monstrous. The one that you did not punish? Who were they?" She started to descend back towards the Tank Factory. Instead of answering him she landed on the roof, she laid down and motioned for him to get down. He slid down her back. His gaze shifted towards the power building where he could hear the laughter of the others. "So. You und my Mutter. I see you two have been getting closer lately. What are your intentions with her?" He couldn't help but cower a bit at her intense gaze. Thinking of Eliana made him smile however. Her smile, the way she laughed, the way her lips felt on his. "Edward. Bitte stop thinking about her that way. I rather not know how she turns you on." She chuckled as a red blush covered his cheeks. "I am guessing it is the telepathy that made you see all of that." She nodded. He sat down in front of her paws. Richtofen ran his hand through his hair sighing. "I love her more than anything. I can see me spending the rest of my life with her. But…" He froze in thought. Luna laid her head down on her paws waiting for him to continue. "I fear rejection." The Dragoness snorted loudly. "She has not rejected you. She loves you very much. I can sense it." His hand went to rub the back of his neck. "I mean. I fear if I ask for her hand in marriage she will reject me." This caught Luna by surprise. Her eyes went comically wide. He raised his hands up in defense "I know I am thinking far ahead. But that's just how I am. I overthink things. Forget it. Let's go back to the others." Luna stopped him from getting up by placing her paw close to him. "It just took me by surprise. You must understand that Drachens do not get married. We mate for life. Once we have chosen a mate it is final. If you wish to marry her however." She shut her eyes and let out a sigh. "Then you have my blessing as her daughter. Now. When did you plan on asking her to share your life with her?" He rested his closed fist on his chin now. The Kronorium had not told him about Eliana or Luna which he still found odd. So he did not know if anything bad would happen to either of them. Heaven forbid it. He shuddered. Eliana had already injured herself enough when she first met them. She was like an accident magnet. He would need a ring to propose. It was a bit old fashioned and he most likely could just ask her without it. But he wanted to give her something special. The feeling of a tongue of his cheek made him snap back to reality. Richtofen cringed as he wiped off the dragon spit. "Why don't you just make the ring yourself? I feel like if you do that she will treasure it even more. Maybe even making a ring for yourself as well. To symbolize you both are now connected." He smiled at the idea. Yeah that could work. She let him climb back on her, she took to the skies again with a destination in mind. Sending a quick thought to her mother she flew past the Power Building and towards the Hatchery.

It had been over two hours since the crew last saw Luna and Richtofen. By then they were done with a majority of their tasks. According to Eliana all they needed to do was to wait until the eggs hatched as well as obtaining the power core. And something called the Gauntlet of Siegfried that the baby Wyverns could somehow enhance. Nikolai didn't bother asking her anymore. They were all tired from the work they had done. Takeo had ended up getting cut up pretty bad from one of the armored zombies. He had stumbled when it first occurred but immediately got right back to slice its throat. All four of them decided to wait by the Wyvern eggs hoping that Richtofen and Luna would come back soon. Eliana had tried her best to patch up Takeo but she was no doctor. "I can easily bandage a dog,cat and even Luna. But not humans." She said as she wrapped up the wound on his arm. The warmth from the eggs was slowly depleting making the woman worry. Nikolai did his best to keep his egg warm, wrapping his arms around it he nuzzled close to it. He closed his eyes letting out a tired sigh. He knew his soul was next. He had to mentally prepare himself for the inevitable. The sound of wing beats made his eyes shoot open; he directed his gaze to the entrance of the building. Dempsey and Eliana stood up quickly putting themselves between the eggs as well as the other two. Takeo went to move but groaned in pain. Instead of a Wyvern landing it was Luna with Richtofen secured on her back. The group let out a sigh of relief. "Fucking finally. Was wondering where those two went." Luna walked in with Richtofen still situated on her back. The duo were smiling, Richtofen chuckled and patted Luna before sliding down her back and onto the floor. "Where have you two been? All you said to me was that you would be back shortly." Eliana's arms were crossed over her chest. Nikolai stood from his spot by his egg. "We had to do a lot of the work. I hope you two were not off relaxing while we worked hard." Nikolai was a bit angry at them. He wasn't going to let them get away without a scolding. At least Richtofen. He would leave Eliana to yell at her own daughter. Richtofen looked nervous as everyone's eyes fell on him. Luna bent her head down and used her snout to nudge him towards Eliana. "Ja. I am going. Don't rush me!" He grumbled. He cleared his throat. "Eliana. Will you…" He gulped before freezing in place. It didn't help that everyone was staring at him now. What was he planning? Eliana raised her eyebrow as she waited for his response. "Can. Uh. We talk in private." Luna rolled her eyes. She grabbed Richtofen by his shirt suspended in the air. "Let go of me! I am no child!" She motioned with her head for Eliana to follow. Once the trio left is when Nikolai made his way to his injured comrade. It felt so empty without the others in the room. As he helped patch Takeo up he kept thinking about how close they were to capturing his soul. The samurai noticed his friend's gaze was unsteady; he placed his hand on Nikolai's stopping him. "There is much on your mind. Sit down." The Russian sat down in front of Takeo, Dempsey joined them shortly after lighting the fire. "I am worried about where we are being led. We have been bouncing around timelines and dimensions securing souls. Our own souls. Richtofen is silent about everything. And does not tell us where we are headed." He kept his eyes steady on both of the men who were leaning on the eggs. Dempsey shifted a bit. "At least Eliana tells us a bit about what is happening. She isn't like the Doc. She actually helps us out. And is kind to all of us. Hell she saved you Nik. And she comforted Takeo when he had to kill his other self. Even Luna helps out. She comforted me afterwards." The other two remained silent for a minute before Takeo spoke up. "But where did they come from? Eliana said she had been tracking us since the Excavation Site in France. But where did they come from before? Eliana's accent is American. And Luna's is clearly German. What were they doing there?" Nikolai sat more comfortably. He had thought of this too. Finally it came to him. "Remember on the Island when Luna was able to breathe the Element?" The two nodded before finally getting a knowing look in their eyes. "Yeah. I remember Eliana mentioned that is how Luna can open portals. Holy shit. Do you think they came from another dimension!?" Dempsey had to lean back on the eggs more for stability. Nikolai rubbed his beard in thought. "That would make sense. After all she acts differently than us. And her clothes are not from this time." All three of them had thoughts racing through their minds. Nikolai closed his eyes and let his thoughts stray to his deceased wife and daughter. Would he ever find happiness? Or would he always suffer?

After Luna dropped off Richtofen with Eliana at the Town Square she flew off to circle the area. Eliana sat on the edge of the statue; she kept her eyes on Richtofen as he shuffled his feet. "Come on Edward. Spit it out. I know something is bothering you." He ran his hand through his hair with a sigh. "There is something I wanted to talk to you about. Something that has been on my mind for a long time." He sat next to her. She kept her gaze on him. Her eyebrow quirked up. "What is it? Is everything alright?" He took a deep breath. "You have read the Kronorium. Did you read about Dimension 2210 by chance?" When he looked at her he immediately noticed how her eyes looked glassy. As if she wanted to cry. She nodded her head. "Yes...I know. I am so sorry you had to go through that my love. I cannot even begin to understand how awful that must have been." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled his head close to her chest. He let the tears fall from his eyes as she held him, his eyes closed as he kept crying. Her left hand came up to run through his hair. "I am trying so hard to secure a better tomorrow. But the others do not understand. I feel their distrust whenever they look at me. Yet I cannot tell them. Not yet at least." She kept rubbing his hair as he let his emotions out. Finally after what seemed like forever he gently pulled his face away from her chest and wiped the tears from his face. He nuzzled his face close to her neck. "Danke Meine Blume." Eliana smiled softly as she leaned back a bit. "What are you thanking me for?" He nuzzled closer to her jaw now. "For being here. For loving someone like me. I love you so much." She nuzzled her cheek on his head and hummed. "I love you Edward. No matter what." They stayed close for a while listening to the faint wing beats come from Luna up above. Richtofen pulled away from her embrace to stand in front of her. She faced him still smiling. He fumbled with something in his pocket. He seemed hesitant now. Eliana tilted her head curiously. He licked his lips before finally pulling out the pure black ring. Eliana's eyes went wide at the sight of it. The ring was made to fit her finger exactly. It was as dark as night and instead of a diamond in the middle was a scale from Luna. It had a slight blue glow to it when sunlight touched it. "Eliana. From the moment I laid eyes on you I knew our destinies were intertwined. When you were injured by that corrupt Keeper I thought you had died. It hurt me seeing you like that. That is when I knew I couldn't live without you. I want to spend every waking moment with you. I love you Meine Blume." He got down on one knee making Eliana blush even more. This wasn't happening. She was about to freak out. He held the ring up. "I know this is really soon. But you never know how short life could be with all that is happening. Eliana Wolf. Will you marry me?" She let the tears fall from her eyes. She practically leaped into his arms making him have to grab her quickly whilst keeping a hold on the ring. "Yes! A hundred times yes!" She nuzzled her face against his cheek. She pulled away a bit so he could grab her right hand, he placed the ring on her ring finger with a smile. He reached into his pocket to grab his own ring. She smiled as he put his on. They rubbed noses as they enjoyed each other's company. Luna had landed nearby to witness it. She was happy for her Mother. Eliana had been through a lot in her teenage years so she deserved this. She watched as Richtofen spun Eliana around. The duo laughed happily in each other's arms. Luna's ears twitched as she heard the sound of someone running. Not knowing what it was she ran towards the couple, Eliana let out a squeal of shock as Luna jumped in front of them. Richtofen held Eliana close to him. Nikolai came running out of the Department Store looking terrified out of his mind. The trio relaxed slightly as he came up. "Nikolai? What happened?" Richtofen asked. He regained some air in his lungs before speaking. "The eggs! They are hatching!" Eliana and Luna's eyes went wide. The eggs were hatching way too early! The Dragoness bent down so they could hop on her back. Richtofen sat up front with Eliana hugging him from behind. Nikolai sat behind Eliana and gripped her shoulders. Luna launched into the sky and headed straight to the power building. Getting there in less than a minute she landed on the steps of the building. They could hear Dempsey and Takeo talking wondering what to do. As soon as they got down from Luna's back the Dragoness ran in. The three ran close behind. She sniffed the eggs as they moved about rapidly. "Thank God you guys are here! We have no idea what to do!" Dempsey walked up to Luna as she continued sniffing. Eliana ran up to the eggs and touched all of them. "Everyone quick! Grab an egg! Let it hatch in your hands let the babies see you so they imprint on you!" Dempsey grabbed the largest egg with the most cracks in it. Takeo grabbed the second largest letting Nikolai grab the third. Eliana clung onto the smallest egg that had no cracks in it. Luna stood close to Dempsey and nudged the egg he was holding. It kept cracking more quickly now. Richtofen went close to them before Eliana grabbed his wrist stopping him. He looked at her and she shook her head. "Let the baby see them. Or else it might imprint on you." A foot popped out from the shell making Dempsey jump a bit. He still clutched the egg but held it farther from his face. Finally the hatchling burst from its egg. It was a male hatchling. He opened his piercing green eyes and looked at Dempsey and Luna. He made a soft cooing sound that Luna made back. The hatchling was a dark grey in coloration with a white underbelly and horns, he spread his tiny wings and flapped them rapidly making loud chirping sounds. Dempsey cringed at the noise. "What does that noise mean?" Luna chuckled before nuzzling the hatchling again. "He ist hungry. They all will be when they hatch." Takeo went to speak just as his hatchling burst out from its egg. He closed his eyes and his mouth as the fluid from the egg splashed over him. Nikolai let out a boisterous laugh but was stopped as his egg burst open too. He coughed as he spit out the egg fluid from his mouth. Eliana leaned on Richtofen as she laughed loudly. Takeo's hatchling crawled out of its shell and on to the samurai's arms. His body was dark red and his underbelly and wing membranes were dark green, he opened his large blue eyes to stare at Takeo. Nikolai's hatchling crawled up to the Russian's head and curled up on his hat. His hatchling was dark blue with dark grey wing membranes and underbelly. His eyes were a brilliant amber color that shined when the sun hit his eyes. As the others went to try to tend to their Hatchlings, with Luna's help, Richtofen stared at the egg that he and Eliana chose. The smallest of the clutch. Eliana was rubbing the egg while speaking softly. Richtofen sighed as he placed his hand on the egg. His ring clinked the shell lightly. "You know...I have always wanted a family of my own. Having a daughter und a son. Living together happily." Eliana kept her gaze on the egg but had a faint blush on her cheeks. "Well. You already technically have a daughter." She motioned towards Luna who was currently letting the hatchlings crawl on her body. He smiled at the sight. "I wonder why ours won't hatch." He felt her hand on his. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. "Give it time my love. Runts will sometimes take longer. Give it another day. Maybe the sounds of his clutch will make him want to come out." He hugged her back and laid his chin on top of her head. "I hope you are right." Nikolai's hatchling jumped off of Luna and ran towards the egg. He sniffed at it before climbing on it. "Bad. Bad reptile! Get off!" Nikolai reprimanded the Wyvern. Eliana laughed as she pet the Hatchling under his chin. "It is fine Nikolai. It might actually encourage the little one inside to hatch." Nikolai tilted his head as he watched the way she interacted with the baby. He took mental notes. "Oh! What will you guys name the babies? After all, having names will be easier to train them." Luna picked up Takeo's hatchling in her mouth gently and moved him closer to her stomach. The three men sat there pondering for a bit. Dempsey was the first to speak. "I'll name mine Aidan. It means Born of Fire. And I mean these guys breathe fire." The newly named Aidan prummed happily and curled up on Dempsey's lap making the Marine smile. Takeo rubbed his chin as he and his Wyvern stared into each other's eyes. "How about Einar for yours? It means Battle Warrior. Makes sense in my opinion." Eliana suggested. Einar seemed to approve of his name as he just bowed his head in recognition, Takeo pet him behind his frill. Nikolai looked at his hatchling as he still crawled all over the unhatched egg. Seeing him move around he finally thought of a name. "Boris. It means Fight in Slavic. I can see he is already a little fighter." Boris hopped off the egg using Eliana as a launch pad he pushed off her shoulder to glide to Nikolai. Eliana grunted softly. "What happens if the egg you guys choose doesn't hatch? Will it rot away or something?" Dempsey asked as he kept petting Aidan. Luna shook her head before answering his question. "If it doesn't hatch I will crack it open und let the other three eat what is inside. It will be extra protein for them. As awful as that sounds it is the way both Drachens und Wyverns get more protein as hatchlings. If one does not survive in the clutch the others eat him or her." Richtofen recoiled at this before moving in front of the egg. Eliana rubbed his shoulder in comfort. "It is fine Edward. I am sure the egg will hatch." He just hoped she was right.

The group all sat close together discussing what else needed to be done in order to secure Ultimis Nikolai's soul. It seemed like there was hardly anything left to do which was a good thing considering the fact that they had to now raise the Wyverns up a bit. Luna had hunted earlier and thankfully no Wyverns had stopped her. After everyone had their food, including the Hatchlings, the group settled down to sleep. Eliana snuggled close to Richtofen with a big smile on her face. He was already passed out with his arms secured tightly around her. He snored softly lulling her to sleep. She found herself back in the woods that she was in before when they were at Der Eisendrache. Blowing some stray hairs out of her face she sighed. "Alright Monty. What the fuck do you want now?" Turning on her heel she let out a shriek as the man in question appeared behind her with no sound. Dr Monty kept his hands behind his back as he took in her appearance. He glared at the ring on her finger. "I told you not to get involved. I asked you kindly to leave this Universe. I will not allow you to ruin my plans." He hissed out. He didn't know how long he could keep his human illusion. The man was seething with rage. Eliana crossed her arms. "How am I messing up your plans? I am literally doing what they would have done even if I wasn't here." She matched his glare. She would not back down so easily. He clenched his fists tightly. "I know what you will plan on doing foolish girl. Whether you know it or not you will ruin my perfect world. Do you not understand what is at stake here? Or are you too immature to understand the weight of the situation." Now she was pissed off. This stupid tentacle fuck face was pressing all of the right buttons to set her off. "The only thing at stake is your life. Which oops. Too bad Buttercup. Just because you are some sort of God doesn't mean you need to sacrifice people to keep living. Nobody likes you. You duck looking bitch." He pinned her to the nearest tree by her throat. She clawed at his tentacle hands whilst kicking her legs out. His true form was even uglier in person. He had a shine on his body and drool dripped down his fangs. "You have four days to leave. You and your Dragon daughter must leave and never return. If you are not gone within four days they will know the truth. And you will pay the price." Her eyes were wide from fear. No he couldn't tell them. They would never trust her again. He let out a guttural roar before lunging at her with his fangs out. She shot up from Richtofen's arms gasping for breath. Richtofen woke up startled, he held onto Eliana tightly as she shook. "Shhh. It's alright. I'm here." His voice was hoarse still as he rubbed her back. Her pupils were dilated as she took deep breaths. Feeling Richtofen's arms around her should have brought her comfort but instead it made her anxiety skyrocket. How would he react when he knew the truth? Would he still love her? She curled up onto his lap as he whispered in German. For now she would enjoy this moment. And worry about what Monty said later. She just hoped she could find the right words to say when that time came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy this chapter! Hope you guys enjoy the story so far and I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter 👀👀


End file.
